Hell's Breaking Point
by Yumekage
Summary: Chapter XIX up Xellos was assigned a perculiar errand by the Lord Of Nightmare. At first, it was just a simple taunting game but as time goes by, the errand became more extreme until it leads to the resurrection of an old foe... LG and ZA
1. Starting Off

**Hell's Breaking Point**

**Chapter I – Starting Off**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Slayers, if I did there would be a lot lemon in the anime/manga/novel............Hei, I'm joking!!!

Xellos was assigned a perculiar errand by the Lord Of Nightmare. At first, it was just a simple taunting game but as time goes by, the errand became more extreme until............. (Mostly L/G and a bit of Z/A)

* * *

Somewhere in the depths of the Astral Plain, the Golden Lord sighed in boredom.

"Sigh.....What a boring day. Chaos, Astral Plain, both have nothing interesting,"

"You can say that again, Oka-sama," a voice suddenly answered her but the Lord Of Nightmare wasn't even surprise. Knowing the owner of the mysterious voice, she let out another sigh before turning to face the Mazoku behind her.

"Aren't you suppose to be at the Wolf Pack Island, Beastmaster's General?" she asked in a tired tone. The mysterious priest gave her a bow before speaking.

"Well, I just thought that I should give The Mother Of All a visit. Oh, and call me Xellos," he replied while giving her that famous smile of his. The Golden Lord just rolled her eyes at his antics. Now is a very bad time to disturb L-sama, no matter who they are, Dark Lords nor Mazoku. Not only did Lina and her companions' current adventures fail to entertain her but now, the Beastmaster's general is harassing her with his presence. _Aah..Today is going to be a very long and boring day....._

"Okay, your visit hour has ended. Goodbye," she said flamboiyantly. For a second, she had saw Xellos' eyes twitch. _Now I know that he has another reason for coming _she silently thought.

Giving him her most annoyed expression, she said calmly "Don't you have a job to do or people to harass," She had expected him to keep silent but she was surprise when he had answered her back.

"Well, that's kinda the reason why I'm here. Zelas-sama is busy with some.....stuff while my favourite humans (Lina and Zel) are currently with the Sairaag and Seyruun's shrine maiden and Amelia-san and her 'life is wonderful' speech alone are bad enough..." he grumbled in disgust remembering the time that Amelia had force him to repent for his Mazoku ways and start being more human like. While he was in memory lane, Xellos didn't realize that L-sama was still looking at him with the same annoyed expression.

"So?"

Xellos was abruptly brought back to reality "So since Hellmaster and Gaav have return to chaos, Zelas-sama is busy with....things, Deep Sea is busy with the Knight of the Aqualord, and Dynast and Sherra are with Santa, that just leave you, oka-sama, as my last resort to help me past my time," _Hmmm, wait a minute, I could have sworn that Dynast's general, Sherra, is dead too....Oh, wait a minute. That's only in the novel._

"Who do you think I am? Your mother?" Obviously she's not satisfy with his answer. Putting a finger on his chin, Xellos ponders for a bit

"Yes?"

Sighing again, L-sama ignored him but his first statement had caught her interest. For the first time on that day, L-sama manage to crack a smile which made Xellos arched an eyebrow in confusion.

"Ah, but you're wrong," Hearing this, Xellos was brought into the state of confusion. Many thoughts were swirling in his tainted mind, 'L-sama is not my mother', 'So I guess Zelas-sama is my mother then', 'But then, who's Sherra's mother, Dynast?' and 'That's a secret'.

The Golden Lord just smile at the confused Mazoku for her last reply was directed to his

statement about Hellmaster Phibrizzo. _Ah yes, I forgot about little Hellmaster. Maybe today won't be as boring as it seems. _And with that thought, a scheme popped into her mind.

"Ah, Xellos. Maybe I do have something for you to do,"

"Ah, Lina-san! That was mine!" a raven haired girl yelled as little by little her lunch was swiped away and devoured by a pissed red haired sorceress. Huge piles of dishes were stacked on the table "Lina-san! Please control your anger!" she pleaded. Lina stopped stuffing food inside her mouth for a second to give Amelia a death glare before screaming "I'm not angry! Why should I be angry!?!?!" and then Lina went back to bloating herself. Amelia tried to calm her friend down again when a hard hand patted her shoulder.

"Just let her blow off some steam Amelia," Zelgadis adviced while sipping his cup of coffee. Amelia reluctantly agreed and continues eating what was left of her lunch. The two companions (minus Lina) ate in silence when suddenly Xellos popped near their table.

"Ah, long time no see everyone," he said happily while glancing through out the room.

"Ah, Xellos-san!" Amelia cried in delight, relief that someone cheerful was there to break the mood. Zelgadis just hmph-ed at Xellos appearance and went back sipping his coffee while Lina continues to consume major amount of food, totally ignoring him. Noticing the absent of his target Xellos turns to Amelia.

"Where's Gourry-san?" Hearing the swordsman's name, Lina let out a quiet growl before chewing her steak violently. Startled at Lina's odd behaviour Xellos asks "What's wrong with Lina-san?" he whispered to Amelia while glancing nervously at the berserk sorceress. Amelia moved closer to Xellos much to Zelgadis' displeasure.

"Lina-san is ups-"

"I'M NOT UPSET!!!"

"-_worry_ about Gourry-san and Sylphiel-san,"

"Why? Are they going to die?" Of course Xellos was only joking but that doesn't stop the furious Lina from throwing her sharp fork at him. Grabing the zooming object with one hand, Xellos lets Amelia continue.

"Don't say something like that, Xellos-san! They're both fine, it's just that....." Amelia stopped before dragging Xellos to the corner of the room and brought her lips closer to Xellos' ear much to Zelgadis' discomfort.

"Sylphiel-san ask Gourry-san on a date and-"

"He said yes? And if I'm correct then explain to me why, because I thought that he and Lina-san are in, ughh, love," He didn't know why he had bother to ask but knowing Gourry's current state was vital to L-sama's plot.

"I know. But, before he and Sylphiel-san left, I went to have a talk with Gourry-san,"

###########Flashback###########

"Gourry-sama, lets go," Sylphie was standing near the inn's exit, giggling all the while. Today was a very good day for her. She had just ask Gourry for a date and miraculously, he had said yes. She didn't care that she was the one who had to take the first step as long as she could be with her Gourry. Ah, she smiled at her success. Life sure is wonderful.

"Ah, coming!" replied Gourry as he rushed towards the shrine maiden. He had a large grin in his face but that grin faded when he saw Amelia standing between him and Sylphiel with a grim expression.

"I'm borrowing Gourry-san for a while!" Amelia took hold of Gourry's hand, dragging him away without waiting for Sylphiel to react. Sylphiel stood there in confusion.

"Uh, okay?"

After they were earshot away from Sylphiel, Amelia finally pull to a stop. Scratching his head, Gourry tried to figure out the reason Amelia had dragged him away from his date.

"Uh, Amel-"

"Gourry-san, how could you!!" Gourry jerked back at her sudden outburst. He didn't have the chance to ask her anything as Amelia bombarded him her ranting.

"How could you betray Lina-san and just went off with Sylphiel-san!" Eh? Gourry's eyes bulged at her statement. "I know that Lina-san is sometimes a little......unlady-like but you two are perfect for each other!! Sure Sylphiel-san is pretty, nice, sweet, honest, well mannered but Lina-san is......Lina-san...is" she stopped, figuring out a way to described Lina as nicely as she can.

"W-what are you talking about and what do you mean by 'betraying'?" Gourry asked. When did he betray her? Why would he betray her? He is Lina's protecter.

"You're going to a date with SYLPHIEL-SAN!!" Amelia yelled. She was determined to bring Gourry and Lina back together again. If she fail, then all her hard work in the past were in vain. Gourry seems to be really thinking about her statement for a while before he replied.

"So?"

Amelia gritted her teeth. _Now I know how Lina-san feels everyday_. She can't believe what she had heard. 'So?' _Why is he so calm about it!!! Wait, can it be that Gourry-san is a....PLAYBOY!!?? .....nah. That's it, I'm gonna go straight to the point._

"Don't you love Lina-san!!" Now that question took Gourry off guard. Amelia watched his face intently and sighed in relief as she saw a hint of pink appearing on the bridge of his nose. For a moment, Gourry kept quiet uncertain how to answer Amelia's question.

"Of course I love her," he said finally with a loving smile. Amelia's eyes lit up and she gasped in delight but then something clicked inside her mind. _Wait a minute. If Gourry-san is in love with Lina-san then why is he dating someine else?_

"Then why are you going to a date with Sylphiel-san?" With that, Gourry's smile became even wider which made Amelia's stomach churned.

"Because of all the delicious food she's going to treat me!" Amelia fell anime style.

############End Flashback##############

"That is very Gourry-like but doesn't that mean that he's just using her to gain food?" Xellos had asked after Amelia had done telling her story.

"I had told him that it was unjust to use other people for his own gain but he said that 'I'll get my food while she'll get me for one day in return. Everyone's happy so what's wrong with that' and before I had the time to lead him back to the path of justice, he had took off with Sylphiel-san. I think Lina-san has become a bad influence on him," Amelia sighed.

A smile crept on Xellos' lips at Amelia's statement. _Perfect.._ "So when will Gou- _they_ be back?"

"They should be back by now. They were gone for two hour," she replied with a small sigh. She was starting to get worried. What if Gourry had tumble Sylphiel on their first date? Amelia's face turned red at the thought but she quickly shook it away. _No. I believe in Gourry-san! _"Well then Xellos-san since you're here, why don't you join us?" and with that Amelia led Xellos to their table ignoring Zelgadis' protest and Lina's growling.

"So did you tell Lina-san about Gourry-san's real intention?" whispered Xellos while secretly glancing at the fiery sorceress. Xellos wouldn't have asked that question if he had known that it was Amelia's storytime again. He sighed.......

###############Yet Another Flashback##############

"WHAT!!!???" A high pitch shriek echoed in one of the rooms in an inn which the Slayers are currently staying. They were supposed to escort Sylphiel back to her uncle's house in Sairaag when a certain duo had complained about their empty stomach and so they had stopped at the nearest inn in the nearest town.

"A DATE!!?? H-how did you know abou this!?" the shrieking continued. Three figures could be seen in one of the inn's room while the other two companions were nowhere in sight. A frightened Amelia edged away from the outburst sorceress before answering her question.

"S-Sylphiel-san had told me before they left..." Amelia looked at Zelgadis who was standing beside the door with his arms crossed for support but he just gave her a weak smile instead.

"Why didn't that jellyfish tell me!?" She wants answer and she wants it now. Noticing the dangerous glint in Lina's eyes, Zel decided to step in and save Amelia.

"Maybe because he wanted to avoid this conversation," he calmly replied while standing protectively in front of Amelia. Lina's eyes twitch at his reply.

_This is getting nowhere..._Amelia thought silently. Peeking behind Zelgadis, she tried talking again "Umm, for what it's worth, Gourry-san had told me that he agreed on dating her in exchange for the food she's going to treat him," _I know that I should tell Lina-san about Gourry-san's feeling about her but somehow I have this strange feeling that she wouldn't even believe me and I would suffer from her wrath.... _Telling her that, Amelia had thought that Lina' ire would at least deteriorate, even for just a little bit. But, was she wrong....

"SO he would date Sylphiel just for some measly grub!? So what's next then!!" she shouted before banging the door open and left. The two companions stared at the slightly crack door with their mouths open.

"Is it me or is Lina-san a 'little' emotional today?" Amelia asked Zelgadis. He looked at her with a strain smile.

"Maybe it's her time of the month,"

#############End Flashback################

Xellos looked at her funny after she had finish telling him her story "She called her essences of life 'measly'!?" Amelia just let out a weak laugh. "Haha...so since that she had start behaving like she is now..." As soon as they arrive at their table, Amelia let out a small whimper as soon as she saw her empty plate. _But I'm still hungry....._ But before she could say anything, two figures imerge from the inn's front door.

"We're back!" Hearing that familiar voice, Lina scoffed at him and starts stabbing her steak violently, Zelgadis just kept quite while Amelia gave a sound of relief. But, no one notice the evil smirk plastered on the Mazoku's face at the sight of the blonde swordsman.

_It's time...._

**To Be Continue....**

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**Author's Note : **

Yumekage: Oh, I'm going to have a lot of fun doing this story. Sorry if there's grammatical problems, I'm still learning my English......

Xellos: And I'm going to have a lot of fun doing the errand

Gourry: I have a bad feeling about this......Any reviews, flames or opinions are fine.

Yumekage: Don't expect me to make a fast update because I have a major exam coming. Gotta study!!

Xellos: Then why are you writing fanfic?


	2. Mission Taunting

**Hell's Breaking Point.**

**Chapter II – Mission Taunting**

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers, if I did I would have make the Slayers' 4th season

Xellos was assigned a perculiar errand by the Lord Of Nightmare. At first, it was just a simple taunting game but as time goes by, the errand became more extreme until............. (Mostly L/G and a bit of Z/A)

Important notes: I forgot to tell you that this story takes place after Next but before Try so Gourry still has the sword of light and there's no Filia.

_

* * *

_

_It's time......_

The deep violet eyes casually follow the blonde swordsman's movement to the Slayers' table. A small smirk plastered on his face as he recall his earlier conversation with the Lord Of Nightmare.

###########Flashback####################

"You want me to do what?"

The mysterious priest had asked L-sama again in surprise. He really had not expected this. "I said I want you to invoke as many negative emotions from Lina Inverse's protector," she repeated herself wondering why is it so difficult for the Beastmaster's general to understand her command.

"Lina Inverse's protector!? G-Gourry-san!?" he exclaimed in disbelief. "B-but, he is the most laidback human I have ever seen!"

"Hmm, I guess this job is too much of a challenge for you. Never mind then," She waved her hand at him signalling for him to leave. But, Xellos did not move from his spot as he re-thought her request. Sure the request was quite difficult to accomplish but the challenge itself had caught his interest.

"Wait, oka-sama," The Lord Of Nightmare smiles for a short while before turning to face Xellos. _Works like a charm,_ she smugly thought "I accept your request," She nodded as a sign of approval.

"Go then," He bowed at her command as one eye slit open "Ah, but before I leave, may I ask the reason why?" Smiling slyly, she answered.

"That is of course a secret,"

#############End Flashback###################

Sigh, she just had to use his catch phrase, didn't she? Pushing the memory aside, Xellos calmly walked over to Gourry while scheming his own plot.

"Gourry-sa....." he stopped as he felt a ridiculously large amount of negative energy coming out of who else but Lina Inverse. _Gah! Why can't the target be Lina-san or Zelgadis-san!? I would not have to crack my mind from finding the right way to accomplish this. _In the end, he decided to let Lina do whatever she wants to do with Gourry first before he begin his plan.

Gourry took a seat on an empty chair near his comrades with the same expression he wears everyday while Sylphiel had a daze look on a her face and a smile that couldn't be erased. "Um, I think I'll go to my room," She excused herself before retreating to the inn's stairs, making her way to her room on the second floor. After she had dissapeared from his vision, Gourry picked up the menu and started scanning through it.

"Waiter, I'll have everything from here to here," he ordered as pointed to his orders to a nearby waiter. Zelgadis accidently sprayed his coffee from his mouth while Amelia just gasped in disbelief. Lina and Xellos didn't even bother to react.

"G-Gourry-san! Are you still hungry!?" Gourry nodded at Amelia. "Well, all that walking has made me hungry again," Zelgadis wiped his mouth as he shook his head in disbelief while Amelia wonders at the depht of Gourry's stomach.

"Well, what do you expect from a stomach powered brain guy! Hmph, I bet he used every last penny from Sylphiel to buy his 'treats'! Well, guess what! No one is going to 'treat' you this time!!" the sorceress had stopped eating and was know sitting upright on her chair, her arms crossed and her eyes closed.

"L-Lina-san...." Amelia did not want to indulge in another one of Lina's tongue-lashing neither does Zel as he had this sudden urge to hunch over and just plug his super sensitive ears.

"Well, that's no problem since I have enough money to pay and about Sylphiel's money she had insisted that I didn't have to pay her back. But, still...she bought me a lot of stuff..." Somehow he felt as he had betrayed his grandmother's trust after she had adviced him to always treat woman nicely before she passed away. His mind was hurting from thinking too much about being more chivalry and in the end he concluded that he was not guilty since Sylphiel wasn't mad at him from 'borrowing' her money. He let out a sigh. _It's a good thing that it's not Lina's money that I'd use, if not I would have to reduce to being her slave forever just to pay her back......_

"NOW you feel guilty!" Gourry snapped back to reality. _Who was that- oh, it's just Lina_. The redhead was still in her arms crossing position only now her eyes were open and was giving him her trademark glare. Normal people would have wet their pants when Lina gave them the glare but Gourry simply calmly shruged her off. Luckily for him, the waiter and his ordered food came just in time to vanish his guilt.

"Here you are, sir," the waiter spoked while putting down Gourry's lunch on the table while at the same time picking up the rest of the large amount of empty plates. Cursing quietly at his customers, the waiter pushed the plate-filled trolley and dissapears into the kitchen. Not wanting to wait any longer, Gourry quickly swipes his knife and fork and starts his assault on his food. The others could only watch in awe.

Lina pushed her chair as she stand up "I'm done......" and walked off towards her room without another word. "Lina-san?" Amelia and Zelgadis watched their friend walked up the stairs before switching their glances back at Gourry who was busy eating.

"Oh, now you've done it Gourry," Zelgadis spoked "Eh?" Ignoring Gourry's ignorance Zel continues "You'd better talk to her because I don't want to deal with _that_ Lina tomorrow or any time in my life," Eventhough his sentences came out as an insult but deep down under his rock hard skin, he was worried and symphatizes his fury companion.

"Zelgadis-san, that was mean," Amelia spoked but Zel only mouthed out a skeptical 'What?'

The two then noticed that Gourry's eating pace had slowed down and eventually he stopped eating. "I guess I'll try talking to her," Gourry put down his knife and fork, while finding the courage to leave his beloved meal. Patting his stomach, he went off to Lina's room.

"Good luck," Amelia whispered silently while Zel just sighed in relief. But then he turned his attention to Xellos who has been suspiciously quiet the whole time. "So, Xellos. You've been quiet, too quiet. What are you up to?" Zel spoked but Xellos didn't bother to look at him as his eyes were glued to the inn's stairs.

".....this will take a while..." and with that Xellos teleported himself away. "X-Xellos-san!?" Amelia and Zel gasped in surprised at his strange behaviour. Amelia looked at the empty chair before turning her gaze towards Gourry's lunch. _I'm sure Gourry-san wouldn't mind.._ And so she pulled his plate towards her side before finishing what Gourry had started; eating his lunch. The smile on Zelgadis' lips watching Amelia turned into a frown as he thought back about Xellos. _It feels as if we've been sucked in into __another one of Xellos's little scheme...._

* * *

Gourry gulped nervously as he steel himself in front of Lina's room. _I know that the conversation will end up with me getting fireballed but here goes nothing._ He summoned every strenght in him just to knock on the door. "Lina?"

"Go away Gourry!" the reply came. Of course he won't go away. How could he leave her like that knowing that it was his fault for making her like this.....well, Gourry didn't know why she was mad but when she is, it's always because of him.

"Lina, come on open the door," Gourry tried again. It was one of his duty as her protector to calm her down. He didn't care if she fireballed him as long as that can cool her temper down.

"I said GO AWAY or I DRAGU SLAVE your sorry ass!!!"

"Go ahead! If that can calm you down than by all means go ahead!" he yelled back. _Please don't! I was just kidding!! _When she didn't reply back, he had thought that maybe he had broken her spirit down. He smiled as he heard the clicking sound of the door unlocking. Grabbing the door knob, Gourry gently pushed the door open when suddenly the door slammed on his face so hard that made him fly backwards hitting the opposite wall. Downstairs, Amelia and Zel prayed for their friend's safety.

Rubbing his pained face, he saw Lina walk through the door. "That," she pointed at his battered face "is for pissing me off," Gourry had expected her to return to her room but he was wrong when she knelt in front of him, her hands on his face.

"Recovery," After his face was fully healed, Lina turned back towards her room when Gourry swiftly caught her right hand. "Wait, I still want to talk to you," He could feel her tense up under his touch. Without turning her head around, she spoked.

"We.....can talk inside," and she led him into her room, his hand still in her grasp. After she had closed the door, Lina went to sit on her bed, her eyes nowhere on her blonde companion. There was an awkward silence before Gourry starts to speak.

"I'm sorry," Hearing his apology, Lina couldn't help but bring her gaze towards Gourry. As their gazes cross path, she could feel her face growing hotter at the sight of his deep gaze. "G-Gourry...." she choked. Gourry closed his eyes as if he was thinking something to say, but when he opened his eyes....

"-is what I like to say if I know what I did wrong," he stated with a big smile. "Umm, but I really don't know what I did to make you mad Lina," he continued with a confused expression on his face. Lina kept quiet alowing him to finish whatever he had to say before she pound him senselessly. "Mmm, all I remember is when Sylphiel ask me out and following your advice, I had agreed and then-" Lina's eyes widen.

"What did you just say? What advice!?" she asked in a confuse and hard tone. _I never adviced him to date Sylphiel......did I?_ A sick feeling started attacking her stomach.

"You know, the advice where you told me to always grab any oppurtunities that may benefit me," he stated to a very confuse Lina.

"Y-you mean that you followed THAT advice and used Sylphiel to gain your own benefit!?" she gapped in surprise not because that he had used Sylphiel but because he had dated her because of her own advice.

"Don't say it like that," Gourry swinged his arms from left to right as the guilt from before crept back to him "Like I said before, both me and Sylphiel had gain something from that date," he explained. For the first time, Lina was the one intently listening to Gourry's explanation.

"So you know then, about Sylphiel's feeling towards you," she didn't know what had made her ask that but she really needed to know his answer.

Gourry looked at her funny "It was kinda obvious wasn't it?" Lina gave out a weak laugh to masked her surprise, _He knew it all along...And here I thought he was blissfully unaware of it.... _But at the same time, she had clenched her hands at her side as an important question popped into her mind.

"So.....do you have feelings towards her?" she gulped as she stared at her shoes, her face was blazing in red.

"I like Sylphiel but only as a friend and maybe as a great cook," Gourry answered as he thought back about Sylphiel's delicious cooking. Lina watched him as he fantasizes about food and couldn't help but let out a laugh. As her laughter snapped him back to reality, Gourry was surprised to see Lina sprawled on top of her bed, letting out a heartful laughter.

Happy to see her laughing again, he smiled "So does this mean, you're okay?" he asked.

"I'm okay, jellyfish," she chuckled. Gourry then walked up to her and gave her his ussual pat on her head. "That's good then. I'm going to go finish my lunch now," As he walked towards the door, he started to speak "Amelia. You can stop leaning on the door now,"

"Yeah, I could see your little sneaky feet," Lina added, as a hint of pink visible on her cheek. There was a loud thumping sound outside the door and a muffled 'Run away Zelgadis-san' was heard before the sound of feet stomping away echoed in the room. Lina raised an eyebrow not expecting Zelgadis to eavesdrop on them also. As Gourry opened the door he heard her call his name. Turning around, he saw her smile sweetly at him.

"Thanks Gourry,"

"Anytime Lina," And he closed the door behind him. Lina let out a happy sigh as she laid her back on the bed but quickly jolted back up when she heard Gourry yelling downstairs.

"Amelia!! You ate my lunch!!!!!"

* * *

The rest of the day went out normally, Lina and Gourry chatting as usual, Amelia and Zelgadis kept running away from Lina afraid that the sorceress would Dragu Slave them for their earlier eavesdropping, Sylphiel with her normal 'Gourry-sama' phrase but one person was missing; Xellos. And from time to time, Zel would wonder about the priest and his evil scheme.

Morning arrive and we found the Slayers back on the road again, resuming their journey to Seyruun. Lina as usual leading the group with Gourry and Sylphiel on her heels, Amelia marching happily while humming the 'Otome No Inori' tune and Zelgadis walking slowly behind her. Everything was going smoothly until an unwanted guest shows up.

"Good morning eveyone!" a cheery voice greeted them making the whole group halt.

"For Pete sake, Xellos! Stop popping in and out like that!" Lina cried in annoyannce. Xellos puts a hand behind his back while giving her a smile.

"Well, if you can put up with Gourry-san's lack of brain cells, you can put up with me. I mean just look at that doofus. I bet every second his brain waste away because he never even used it. Maybe he's just too much of an idiot to know how to use his brain anyway," he spoked, the smile never faded, all this while Lina and the others (minus Gourry) looked at him, surprised and angry by his sudden rude comments about their friend. Gourry still contained his peaceful look.

"Wait a minute, Xellos!" Lina suddenly spoke up "You came here just to insult Gourry! Well if that's the case, you can just teleport your astral ass back to the astral plain!" her voice hold anger towards the Mazoku. Amelia, Zel, and Sylphiel agreed with the red-haired sorceress. Xellos took a second to peek at the blonde sworsdman and was frustrated that he wasn't giving out any reaction. _Time to double the insult...._

"Well, well, Lina-san. You insult him everyday, don't you?" Lina's eye twitched "But I do not-"Xellos stopped her by wiggling a finger. "Ah, but don't feel bad about it Lina-san. It is true, isn't it?" There was a short silence as Lina and the others had no idea how to counter that comment.

"As I thought. You know, if you two would ever get together in the end, Lina-san, you would probably have to tell him where to insert his big 'sword'. Hmm, but as I think about it, it may not be his fault for being so unbelievably stupid, maybe his parents are already a complete asshole in the very beginning," he said in delight, letting out a chuckle as if whatever he had said was funny.

Lina's face was already red with embarrasment and fury, Amelia and Sylphiel gasped in horror while Zel gripped his hand tightly in anger. All of them were giving out delicious emotions, but Xellos ignored them all. What he was aiming for is Gourry's. His smile widen as he felt a flicker coming out of the swordsman but the smile faded because as quickly as it came, it quickly dissapear. Gourry started walking towards him, his expression never changing.

"I don't know what you're hoping to gain from insulting me and my family like that. But if you're hoping to get me angry with those petty lies, you can forget about it," he said calmly but it was visible to see that he was struggling to keep his composure. Noticing

her beloved companion's struggle, Lina did the only thing she could think off and that is hurting Xellos, **badly**. Moving between Xellos and his prey, she violently grabbed Xellos by the collar and dragged him downwards so that he was face to face with her. She greeted her teeth.

"If you're quite done, you bastard, why don't you go back to wherever hellhole you just crawl out from!" her voice was thick in anger as she glared him dangerously. "Or I'll make you!" Xellos brought his eyes from Gourry to meet Lina's. Looking at the deep fiery red pools of her eyes, he knew that she wasn't joking. Taking a quick glance at the man behind her, he reply.

"As you wish," and he vanished from thin air.

**To Be Continue...**

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Ranting:

Ahem, so **Taroguru-san**. When will you be updating your story, ha? Hehe, anyway, thanks for the review .

I like making Lina jealous, **Gerao-A**, it's fun Thanks for reviewing and about continuing that other story of mine.......I'll think about it....0o;;;;

Thanks for reviewing **Magus Black.**

Sorry about having no Filia in this story, **Mistress DragonFlame **but thanks for the review.

I know, I know **BlueJellyFish**. Don't worry. There'll be plenty of L/G moments in this story to please you XP

**Author's Note :**

Yumekage: Phew, chapter II done.....

Xellos: I love being a Mazoku, it's so much fun

Lina: Xellos! Come back here so I can kill you!!

Xellos: Whoops, she found me! Bye!

Gourry: ......why me..?

Yumekage: Don't worry Gourry. That's what you get for being my favourote male character in Slayers

Gourry: o0 Any reviews, comments or even flames are fine with the author.


	3. Going Even Further

**Hell's Breaking Point**

**Chapter III – Going Even Further**

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers, if I did, Luna would have made her appearance in the anime.

Xellos was assigned a perculiar errand by the Lord Of Nightmare. At first, it was just a simple taunting game but as time goes by, the errand became more extreme until............. (Mostly L/G and a bit of Z/A) - Takes place after Next and before Try.

* * *

Lina's eyes drifted to the ground as she clenched her hand which earlier had Xellos in her grip and had stayed in that position.

"Damn that Xellos! What was he thinking?!" Zelgadis cursed under his breath. Everyone was baffled and furious at the same time and it was all Xellos' doing. Except for Gourry, who hadn't said a word after Xellos had left. He was looking at the patch of dirt where Xellos had been standing, his eyebrows furrowed as if he was in a deep concentration. Amelia looked at the unmoving figure with worried eyes and didn't like this situation one bit, the ever so gentle and cheerful Gourry had turned into....into an angst Zelgadis!!

"Forget about what Xellos-san had said, Gourry-san!" Gourry turned to Amelia, "He was just provoking you! Don't let his unjust words get to you!!" Amelia said.

"Amelia is right Gourry-sama! After all, he is a Mazoku...." Sylphiel joined Amelia.

"And Mazoku feeds off human's negative feeling," Even Zel tried to comfort his friend.

Everyone tried their best to cheer Gourry up except for Lina who hadn't said a word the whole time_,"Well, well, Lina-san. You insult him everyday, don't you?" _She didn't know why those words kept echoing in her mind. Maybe because he was right. _No! _Lina shook the thoughts away. _I may have called him an idiot or a jellyfish for brain, but that's because it had become more out of habit, not because I was really insulting him.............maybe a little....But they were never as harsh as Xellos' _Lina gritted her teeth as she recalled him insulting not only Gourry but his parents!? Her trains of thought was disrupted as she heard Gourry's voice.

"I know that, everyone. But, I'm fine. Really," his voice was soft as he gave them a reassuring smile but then his face turned back to it's earlier expression.

Urgh, this is driving her crazy. Seeing this out of characterness in Gourry scares the hell out of Lina. She has to do something, anything to get the old jellyfish back.

"Aargh!! For cripe sake Gourry! Snap out of it!!!" she suddenly screamed. Gourry turned his attention towards her, eyes widen. Pointing a finger at him, she continued her ranting, "This is getting really frustrating!! Are you gonna be like this for the rest of the day!?" Gourry raised an eyebrow. "You said it yourself that everything he said was a lie, that he was just trying to make you angry. And you're right!" Lina paused for a while, thinking about something encouraging to say.

"Cause if an expert swordsman who can masterly wield the Sword Of Light is an idiot, then that means that Zel is the second dumbest thing next to you!" Okay, that wasn't exactly encouraging.....

"Hei!!" Zelgadis huffed in protest, "It means that Lina-san thinks that you're the second best swordsman, Zelgadis-san," Amelia whispered reassuringly to him but Lina ignored them as her attention still glued to Gourry.

Her frustration quickly dissolved as she saw his mouth curved into that same smile she always see everyday, "Lina, it's okay. I'm over that already," He reasoned with her but that answer wasn't good enough.

"Okay!? Then why are you like this!?" she asked in a serious tone. She saw him scratched his head for a while before answering, "Well, I was just thinking,"

Lina's eye twitched, "Thinking!? You call being gloomy thinking!?" Oh boy, her annoyance level is rising critically....

Gourry took a step back, "Well, it's hard to concentrate when you guys kept talking to me about getting over something that I had already gotten over it in the very beginning," he simply stated.

"Well you didn't look like you've gotten over it!!!!" the three of them yelled back suddenly. "That's right," Sylphiel too joined in.

Gourry ignored their yelling and continue, "Anyway, I just realized that Xellos didn't denied it when I had accused him of trying to make me angry,"

Zelgadis crossed his arms, "So. He likes to make everybody miserable," Lina and Amelia nodded their head in agreement.

"But why me? He never tried anything like this to me before," he recalled back his earlier memories with Xellos while Lina and Zel pushed whatever memories they had with that Mazoku aside.

"Hei, Gourry-san is right! I noticed that in the past, Xellos-san bugs more on Lina-san and Zelgadis-san than the rest of us!" Amelia pointed out.

"Well, sorry for being Xellos' easy target....." Zelgadis muttered weakly.

"Ah, b-but it's not your fault that you have a twisted personal-......" she stopped herself, realizing that she had just made Zel more self-conscious.

".....................," Zelgadis was hunched on the ground with an arm hugging his knees while the other hand was drawing circles on the dirt. A sweat formed on Amelia's forehead.

"I-I'm sorry, Zelgadis-san!!"

Ignoring the two of them, Lina realized where Gourry's statements were going, "So you're saying that instead of feeding your negative emotions, he has some other reason to get you angry?" Lina asked as she put a hand on her hip.

Putting a hand on his chin, he ponders for a moment, "Well, It's just a thought,"

Hearing Lina's suggestion, something clicked in Zelgadis' mind. Getting back on his feet, Zel spoked, "You know, as I think about it, Xellos was acting funny yesterday too. Isn't that right, Amelia?" he turned to the girl next to him.

Amelia's eyes lit up, "That's right!"

_So, I was right! He is up to something...and it seems that Gourry is connected to this scheme of his...._ Zelgadis thought in silent but Lina's voice interupted his thoughts, "So, do any of you know anything about Xellos' plan?" she asked in serious tone.

"We have no idea," Amelia and Sylphiel replied while Gourry and Zelgadis shook their heads.

Lina sighed in frustration, "Well, the next time that fruitcake comes to visit, I'll force his plan out of his mouth!" She made a strangling gesture to emphasize her point. _But why Gourry? _She thought to herself. Lina stole a glance at Gourry who was talking normally with the other three. _How did the poor jellyfish get caught up in his plan....? _Lina was determined to find out for Gourry's sake. Oh, and she remembered that she had a bone to pick with that purple fruitcake for his earlier actions because no one can insult Gourry but her.

"Well, there's no point in thinking too deep about something we don't know about. But, from now on, we have to stay alert whenever Xellos is around," Zelgadis warned them as his gazes landed on Gourry, "Ecspecially you Gourry," Gourry nodded in reply.

"So there's no point in standing here anymore. Lets move out," Lina suggested as she grabbed Gourry by his hand and tried to drag him with her. But Gourry didn't tried to budge frop his spot.

"Gourry?" Lina asked in a worried tone. Turning around, she saw him smiling at them and his eyes were glinting with happiness.

"Everyone, thanks for trying to cheer me up," it was directed to everyone but when Gourry had said it, he had locked his eyes with Lina who had turned pink and had reacted by slapping her hand hard on his back.

"Gah!" Gourry yelped in pain as he tried to rub his aching back, "What are friends for," she simply said with a large grin while his other friends gave him a smile. As Lina turned to face the road, she froze halfway as she saw two bizzare creatures standing just right in front of her.

"Lina Inverse," one of the creatures spoked.

"Mazoku," Lina replied. There was a long silent as the Slayers stood there in alert, hands ready either on their swords or chanting a spell and the battle began as one of the Mazoku slashed it's blade-like hand towards Lina but with a single step, she managed to dodge it.

Landing gracefully out of harm, she spoke, "Rude, aren't you. Ugh, I was hoping to bumped into some bandits....my purse is getting thinner and thinner every minute....," she muttered quietly to herself. "So, aren't you two at least going to explain why you want to kill me?" she spoked in a mocked tone as she cautiosly moved back towards her companions. Gourry walked to her side with the Sword Of Light already gripped in his hand, covering Amelia and Zelgadis who was quietly chanting a spell.

"It doesn't matter if I tell you or not. I, Xien and Ryist will kil-"

"Ra Tilt!!" Amelia and Zel cut him off simutaniously as a large pillar of blindingly white light enveloped the two Mazoku. It seems that they had foreseen it as they quickly jumped out of the light but one of them was too slow too react as it let out a pained cry as he lost an arm in that light.

Lina smirk, "Heh, you people could never stopped babbling away can you?" Lina smugly said, a satisfy look on her face as Zel and Amelia's Ra Tilt attack had work. She then braced herself for the coming battle.

The armless Mazoku, who had called himself Xine, gritted it's teeth as he plunged towards Lina who had already finish chanting a spell. With a determination glinting in her eye, she yelled.

"Come and get it! Elemenkia Lance!"

* * *

As the battle ensue, a lone figure was sitting on a branch of a tree nearby watching the fighters every movements. _Emotional pain is harder to recover than physical pain. So, if I can't get to Gourry-san by 'hurting' him, I will get to him by 'hurting' his most precious person...._And with that thought, his gazes started to focus on the petite Lina Inverse.

* * *

"Heck!" Gourry shouted as he swing the Sword Of Light, releasing an energy blast towards the two Mazoku but one of them had managed to flicked it away with his arm causing the blast to bounce towards Lina.

"Diem Wing!" Lina yelled before flying out of the blast's path. Behind them, Zel thrusts his sword which he had casted the Astral Vine on it earlier at them. But he let out a gasp of surprise as the Mazoku easily caught the blade in his hand before throwing the sword with Zelgadis still attach to it out of the Mazoku's way. As he was flying in the air, Zelgadis caught a glimpse of the Mazoku returning his attention towards attacking Lina.

_What's wrong with them! It's like their possess in killing Lina!! _Zelgadis worriedly thought. And he was right. All the Mazokus's attacks are aiming towards Lina unless someone steps in between them. But even if someone did, the Mazokus would quickly blast them away and starts focusing their attacks on Lina again. But, he couldn't think any further as he slammed painfully on the hard ground.

"Zelgadis-san!" Amelia cried as she ran toward the falling chimera. Helping him back on his feet again, she heard him said in a low tone.

"Amelia, those Mazoku focuses too much attention on killing Lina. This may give us the chance to win. Lets try the Ra Tilt again," Amelia nodded in agreement and they both started chanting the spell.

While dodging Gourry's multiple sword attacks, Xine could sense Xellos nearby and his earlier threat started echoing in his mind, _"If you can't even do this simple job than you're not worthy of being a Mazoku. And do you know what I do to this type of Mazoku?.... I kill them......" _Xine cursed at the Beastmaster's general. The 'job' was suppose to be easy, but thanks to these persistent humans, it had become frustratingly hard. But, the will not to return to chaos yet had pushed the two Mazoku's to cross over their limit.

Lina was having a hard time keeping up with the Mazokus' non-stop attacks and if it weren't for Sylphiel's white magic, she would have been long gone. Of course she wouldn't forget about Gourry who was fighting fiercely to protect her. As she was evading Ryist's attack, she caught a glimpse of Amelia and Zel chanting a spell. Knowing what the two of them had planned, Lina steel herself so that she could buy them some time.

* * *

Xellos drummed his fingers agaist the tree's branch, _This is getting nowhere...This battle will be a tie if I don't do something, _he cursedly thought as he jump of the branch. Spotting a small rock, he gently picked it up and carefully aim it at Lina's moving legs. _Sorry Lina-san, but a Mazoku's gotta do what a Mazoku's gotta do, _Predicting her next move, he quickly and cautiously flicked the rock using his forefinger with such strenght that made the rock zoomed in the air with an unbelievable speed towards it's target.

Lina, who was moving her right leg behind so that she was in a spell casting position felt a sudden pain as the zooming rock crashed unto her moving leg causing her to lose her balance and making her fall backwards towards the ground. The attacking Mazoku who had saw this chance, swooped it's hand towards Lina. Lina's eyes widen and had cried in pain as the Mazoku's hand speared through her body causing a large amount of blood gushing out of her stomach. She choked out her blood as her vision became blurry. The frantic yelling of her friends calling her name echoed in her ears before she went limp on the Mazoku's arm.

**To Be Continue...**

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**Ranting:**

**Gerao-A : **Don't worry, Xellos is not desperate. It's all part of the plot. Hmm, about the punishment......I'll let L-sama decide. Thanks for the review.

**CT : **Yeah, you're right. There's more L/Z based story than L/G. Poor Gourry, poor Amelia. But, not in this fic. The canon couple will get all the lovin'!

**Knight of L-sama : **Thanks XP But, if they did get OOC, tell me.

**Blue Jellyfish : **::gives candy:: I enjoy reading your review coz you get all hyper about L/G. Thanks for the compliment XD

**Icekaia : **.....okay...I'll try to update faster.

**LeaMarie F. Rocket : **Thanks lol

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**Author's Note : **

Yumekage: ::points Xellos:: Oh my god, you killed Lina!!

Xellos: I-I didn't me- Hey, I did nothing but watch (and made her tripped)!

Lina: Ugh, oh the agony....My vision....it's getting darker...I can't see.... Oh, the pain.....The pain..... Help me....My life....I see it passing by.....

Gourry: Oi, Lina. Lets get some something to eat.

Lina: Ok!

Zel & Amelia: ..........review please.....

Sylphiel: Feel free to point out any mistake in this story.


	4. Consoling Oneself

**Hell's Breaking Point**

**Chapter IV – Consoling Oneself**

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers, if I did, the battles would have been more violent....with blood...

Xellos was assigned a perculiar errand by the Lord Of Nightmare. At first, it was just a simple taunting game but as time goes by, the errand became more extreme until............. (L/G and Z/A) - Takes place after Next and before Try.

Japanese Words:

Oka-sama - Mother aka L.O.N.

Yare yare - Oh boy....(something like that)

Banzai - Hooray

Domo arigatou - Thank you very much

Mazoku - Evil race/Monster

* * *

A feral smile spread on Xellos' lips as he watched Ryist's arm speared through Lina's body, _Finally!_ He mentally thought as he waited for the Mazokus' next action. _I hope those two still remember what I had told them earlier. _Despite his determination to succeed, somewhere in the back of his mind, Xellos wondered at himself for going this far just to accomplish his errand. He's willing to gamble with Lina's life, an important asset for the all the Mazoku. _Maybe it's the fact that it is a command from the Golden Lord herself....or maybe I'm just curious about what will happen if Gourry-san did release a large amount of negarive emotions..._

* * *

Ryist looked at the bloody and unconscious sorceress and fortunately for Xellos, the advices he had gave to the two Mazoku still echoed in their minds. Starting with advice #1; _once you had managed to hurt Lina Inverse, mock her....._

Ryist forced a smirk on his face, "Hahaha! I had thought that the powerful Lina Inverse would do better than this! To think that she lost with just one blow, oh how pathetic!" Xine walked next to him so that he could have a better look at Lina's condition, "Heh, I guess all that rumor about her being a great sorceress was just crap!"

Advice #2; _and then_ _hurt her a bit but don't let her die......_

"Now I know that the rumor about her destroying Hellmaster is not true! Not by this weakling!" he spatted as he kicked the unconscious figure mockingly before Ryist removed the sorceress from his spear like arm and threw her on the ground as if she's just a piece of garbage.

Zelgadis and Amelia were infuriated with the Mazokus' action. They couldn't take it any longer and were rushing their incantation so that they could obliterated them with the Ra Tilt when Sylphiel stopped them.

"Cast it there," she said in a strain voice. Her eyes show anger no less than Zel and Amelia's as she points a finger towards the moving swordsman. Gourry was zooming stealthily towards their enemies and had leapt into mid-air.

"Hahahaha! How pathetic!" the Mazoku laughed maniacally. On the outside, one would think that they had everything under control but inside them lays turmoil as the two Mazokus follow Xellos' two advices in fear while at the same time trying to sense the mysterious priest's whereabout.

"Ra Tilt!!!" Their laughter broke off as both Zel and Amelia cast the spiritual spell in unison at Gourry's Sword Of Light. Looking upwards, they were shocked to see the swordsman above them.

"Hyaaaaa!!!" Gourry roared as he slashes the Ra Tilt powered Sword Of Light at the two Mazokus. Not concentrating at the other humans, both Xine and Ryist didn't have the chance to react and thus they perish under Gourry's attack.

Zel and the others watch as Gourry sliced their enemies in half and dematerealize into nothingness.

_

* * *

_

_We lose more Mazoku these way and I think threatening them contrubuted to that.......But that's the least of my problem! _Xellos eagerly looks at the swordsman but his enthusiasm quickly turned into dissapointment.

_Hmm, he's just angry but other than that...... _Xellos thought to himself as he watched intently for any changes on Gourry but found nothing. "Does this mean that Gourry-san's negative energy wasn't enough....?" he asked himself in disbelief. Before the battle, Xellos would stopped himself for time to time and would try to figure out the Lord Of Nightmare's intention behind the so-called erand. But everytime he did, no answer was found. "Yare yare, I guess I'll have to see oka-sama again....." Xellos looked at the Slayers one more time before he dissapeared into thin air.

* * *

Quickly dismissing her shock, Sylphiel quickly rushed towards Lina's lying figure and starts checking her wound, all this while ignoring the blood pooling around the sorceress' body. _Thank Ceified they missed Lina-san's vital organ! _She sighed in relief as she lightly pressed both of her hands in Lina's deep wound. A white glow appeared beneath her hands as she chanted a healing spell. 

"Resurrection," Never moving her hands, Sylphiel turned towards Amelia. "Amelia-san!" Sylphiel called out to the little princess. Giving a quick nod, Amelia rushed to assist the Sairaag's shrine maiden with her own Resurrection spell.

Zelgadis wanted to do something to help his fallen comrade but he knew that his white magic isn't that strong as Amelia and Sylphiel's and he would only get in their way. He gripped his hands as a useless feeling washed over him. _How many times must she endures this... First Rezo, then Gaav and Phibrizzo, and now those Mazoku...... _Zel grimly thought as he turned to see how Gourry was coping with Lina's current condition. He was shocked to see the swordsman standing absolutely still with his hand gripping tightly on the hilt of the Sword Of Light while staring at the ground with an empty and emotionless gaze.

"Gourry.....?" Gourry jerked back for a second at the sound of Zelgadis' voice. But when he turned to face the chimera, his eyes had already returned back to normal.

"What's wrong?" Gourry's eyes widen, "What's wrong about what?" Zel was taken back by Gourry's question.

"I saw you staring 'blankly' at the ground seconds ago. Are you okay?" the chimera had asked again.

"No I didn't. Why should I be blanking out when I know that Lina is injured?" he firmly replied. Although he was confuse, Zel knew that judging by the tone that Gourry had used, he wasn't lying.

Figuring that Gourry was just in shock, Zel quickly dismissed any more questions about his weird behaviour, "Don't worry, Gourry. Lina will be fine," he said reassuringly.

Gourry gave him a small smile, "Yeah, I know Sylphiel and Amelia wouldn't let me down,"

But it seems that the 'The Mother Of All' was not going to let them off easy as the clear weather suddenly changed. The clear blue sky had turned dark grey and rain started pouring on them.

"Oh no, we have to get Lina to somewhere dry!" Sylphiel suddenly shouted, fearing for her friend's condition.

Amelia looked beyond the road, "But the next town is still miles away!" she spoked in a panic voice.

"Shit! We have no choice but to go back to that earlier town!" Zel cursed.

"But we can't risk moving Lina! Her wound might open again!" the Sairaag shrine maiden panicly explained.

"Then we won't move her! Sylphiel, take care of Lina's injury! Amelia, you'll help me cast Ray Wing over the group! Come on, Gourry!" the chimera called out on the blonde swordsman as he chanted the spell.

"Ou!" Gourry replied before moving closer to the group.

"Ray Wing!!"

* * *

"There, Lina-san will be fine if she rest," Sylphiel told the others as she tuck Lina in her bed. They had managed to reach the earlier town but as soon as they arrived at the inn, it was already night and the rain had started pouring heavily. Not only that but they only managed to find three rooms at the inn as the other rooms were already occupied. But, luckily for them, the innkeeper was thoughtful enough to help Lina's condition by lending them his first aid kit. Upstairs, they decided to give Lina a room to herself so that she could fully rest.

Satisfied that Lina's in her comfy bed, the others walked quietly out of her room, except for Gourry. "Gourry-sama?" Sylphiel whispered out to him.

"Um, if you guys don't mind, I would like to stay at her side a bit longer," he replied with a small smile. The others looked at each other for a second before nodding in approval. Closing the door softly, Zelgadis gave the blonde swordsman a time alone with Lina.

Taking a chair nearby, Gourry placed it near the bed so that he could be beside Lina. Gourry smiled as he gazes at the sorceress' sleeping face. She looked so peaceful and serene unlike when she was awake......Brushing a few strands of Lina's hair out of her face, Gourry let out a small sigh, "How many times are you going to make me worry? Ha, Lina?" he asked her even though he knew that Lina wouldn't answer him.

"Who told you to worry....." Gourry's eyes widen at the sound of her voice.

"Lina?" Her eyes were still close but there was a small smile on her face.

She opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him, "Hehe, it'll take more than that to kill the sorceress supreme Lina Inverse," she gave out a small chuckle.

Gourry just shook his head in response, "You'll never change, will you Lina?"

"Hehe..."

"Does it still hurt?" Gourry asked as gazes at her stomach.

"What? This?" she lifted the blanket to reveal her bandaged cover stomach, "Well, it kinda stings a bit when I move but I'll live," she said as she covers herself back with her blanket.

Gourry, being the kind man he is, helped her tucked herself in, "Well then. Just go to sleep so you can regain your strenght back," he replied in a more relax tone as he patted her head lovingly. Not noticing the blush creeping on Lina's cheek.

"Um, Gourry? W-We're not sharing the same room, are we?" she asked in stuttered voice as she glances on her protector shyly. _What's wrong with me? We had shared a room before so why is it bothering me now..? _She asked herself.

"Nah, I'll return to my room once I know that you're asleep," Gourry leaned back on his chair and gave her a bright smile.

* * *

"And I doubt that Gourry will return to our room so any of you girls can use the other bed," Zelgadis quietly whispered at the others while removing his ears from the door. The three of them had been eavesdropping (again) on Lina and Gourry's conversation. The worried feeling that was growing inside of them had finally been lifted after they heard Lina's voice. Feeling much better knowing that Lina is fine, the three of them started walking towards the other two rooms.

"What about you, Zelgadis-san?" Sylphiel asked. Since there're only two beds, who will have to sleep on the floor?

"I'll take the floor," Zelgadis spoked instantly. He knew that both Amelia and Sylphiel had used a lot of their strenght to heal Lina. So giving them the comfy beds to sleep on is the least he could do.

"Um, which room's floor?" Amelia's soft voice ringed in his ears. The two girls stopped walking and turned to look at the chimera, waiting for his answer.

_Oh boy, I forgot that this means I have to share a room with one of them......_Zel mentally slapped himself as he stared back at the girls with a blank expression, a hint of pink visible on his cheek.

"That's okay, Zelgadis-san. You can sleep with me," Amelia concluded with a shy smile.

"WHAT!?" the chimera shouted in shock and surprise at the princess's boldness. He could feel his face turning bright red while hearing his own heart thumping madly.

Finally noticing the mistake in her statement, Amelia quickly explained herself, "N-No! Not like that! What I meant is since Lina-san and Gourry-san took the first room, Sylphiel-san can have the second room while we take the third room," she didn't have the courage to look at the chimera in front of her so she settled on looking on her shoes while blushing profusely. There was a long silence as her statement didn't completely sink in Zel's head.

"With me sleeping on the bed and you sleeping on the floor," she finally added quietly.

"Oh," Zelgadis simply reply. Secretly, he ignored his dissapointment.

Sylphiel giggled at the two of them. She too secretly ignored her dissapointment that she and Gourry never had this kind of situation.

* * *

"Did you just hear Zel shouting 'What'?" Lina asked her partner sleepily. Turning her head so she could see him, she face-faulted when she saw Gourry had already snoring away. He was sitting on his chair with his back hunched forward and his arms was folded on his knees.

_Going to his room, my ass! _Lina shouted mentally. But then again, she was glad that he's still here, beside her. Lina took the time to just gaze at her protector while memories of her adventures with him flowed in her mind. A smile crept on her face as she remembers all the time when she had punched/fireballed/mocked him but the jellyfish would never leave her side. Ignoring the pain, she moved closer towards him and rested a hand on one of his knee affectionally before her tiredness took over her and she started snoring softly.

_What would I do without you, Gourry........_

**To Be Continue...**

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**Ranting : **

Thank you everyone for reading this fanfic..::sniff sniff:: I'm so happy that you guys like the story!

**CT : **Umm, well....all I can say is that it's not Gourry's hidden power that L-sama is trying to bring out but something else......Well, you have to wait for future chapters to find out what that 'something else' is.

**Gerao-A : **.........you're so bad Air Jay......

**BlueJellyFish : **See! Lina's fine! How can I let my favourite bad-ass sorceress die.......I hope you didn't die with suspense...

**Kaeru Soyokaze : **Thanks for reading! Oh, don't be mad at Xellos. He's just being his Mazoku self.

**Noseless Wonder : **Domo arigatou! Well, I like leaving a cliffhanger in my story.

**paintedstars : **Thank you for the compliment. I'll try making this story as interesting as I can!

**ethereal-tenshi : "**If I were Lina, I would have died from embaressment" – Yes, everyone would, except me! If I were I Lina's shoes, I would either laugh at the thought or just nod in agreement.

Gourry: Yumekage-san! Are you saying that I'm stupid as well?

Yumekage: No, because I know you're great in bed-

Zel: Okay!!! That's too much info!!

Sylphiel: Oh my, Gourry-sama......

Lina: Y-Yumekage? How do you know about, about 'that'!?

Yumekage: Oh, did you forget about his animal instinct? Zel too included!

Zel: ::blush profusely:: YUMEKAGE!!!!!!!

Amelia: ::blushing madly:: _Think pure thought! Think pure thoughts!!_

Yumekage: Now I know why Xellos loves to tease you guys.

Yumekage/Xellos: ::waving arms:: Banzai! Banzai!!

**Author's Note :**

Yumekage: Now isn't this a sweet chapter! Ah, Lina, Gourry, Zel, Amelia. I just want to hug U guys!

Lina/Zel: Run away!!!!

Amelia: But, I feel sorry for Sylphiel-san.....

Yumekage: Don't worry. That shrine maiden is pretty, nice, soft spoken, the perfect girl in Slayers. I bet there'll be plenty of guys wooing for her love.

Zel: ........wooing for her love.......?

Lina: Are you saying that I'm not femenine enough!?

Amelia: When did she said that, Lina-san?

Lina: Oh, .....never mind.....

Zel: ::whispers:: Hei, Gourry. When you guys settle down, remember to always praise Lina (no matter what she does). She's really self-conscious you know.

Gourry: Uh-huh ::jot down advice::

Xellos: Oh, don't forget your daily lustful se-

Zel: Keep your opinions to yourself!!!!

Gourry: Oooh, lustful sex. ::jotes advice down::

Lina: Uh, I don't want to know what you three were saying.......For the readers, thanks for reading and please review....

Amelia: For justice!!!


	5. Meeting The Shapeshifter

**Hell's Breaking Point**

**Chapter V – Meeting The Shapeshifter**

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers, if I did, I would have gone to school by riding my own Pico Pico Lina-chan's golem (from Slayers Great) instead of walking there....

Xellos was assigned a perculiar errand by the Lord Of Nightmare. At first, it was just a simple taunting game but as time goes by, the errand became more extreme until............. (L/G and Z/A) - Takes place after Next and before Try.

Japanese Words:

Oka-sama : Mother aka L.O.N.

Yare yare : Oh boy....(something like that)

Mazoku : Evil race/Monster

Minna : Everyone

* * *

"Mmmm...." Gourry mumbled groggily as he awakens from his sleep. To his surprise, he found himself lying on the floor instead on the chair where he had unconsciously nod off. Slowly, he got up to his feet but was confused to find Lina's bed nowhere or Lina's room as a matter of fact.

"Eh, where am I?" he asked to no one in particular as he analyzes his surrounding. It seems that he was in a never ending void of darkness. Everything was pitch black but amazingly he could see his body clearly. Confused by his current situation, Gourry started walking aimlessly in the darkness while calling out for his friends.

"Lina? Zel? Amelia? Sylphiel?" he called out but was dissapointed when neither of them answered back.

"They can't hear you, you know," a childish voice suddenly fills the air and as reflex Gourry searched for the source of the voice but found only the never ending darkness.

"Who are you?" Gourry asked suspiciously. But an idea quickly strikes his thought.

"Ah, you must be the disembodied voice in my dream!" he stated with a smile, pleased with his conclusion. There was a long pause as if whoever the voice was was dumbfounded with the blonde swordsman's simplicity.

"Ahem, _I'll ignore that statement....._Anyway, your friends can't hear you, you know," the voice suddenly spoked back.

"Of course they can't. This is my dream," Gourry simply replied, still searching for the so called 'disembodied voice'.

"Well.....That's true......._What's wrong with this human?_," the voice stuttered, not knowing how else to respond to the clueless sworsdman. "But! This is not your average dream," it quickly added.

"Hmm, it sure is. Usually there would be food in my dream," Gourry said as he glances at the dark surrounding hoping to see a glimpse of food. Finding nothing, he turned his attention back to the voice. "So, what's up?" he casually asked the 'voice' as if it was his friend.

"_I never notice before but you're an interesting human_. Actually, I'm here to thank you, for your negative emotions. Thanks to that last battle, I could now communicate with you in your dream," the voice spoked with a hint of mockery. "But I'm still counting on you for more. Until 'that' time, Gourry Gabriev..........." the voice became more quiet with each word it spoke until eventually Gourry couldn't hear the voice anymore.

"Eh......?" Gourry's confused voice echoed in the dark void as the darkness started to swirl dizzingly around him.

"Gah!" Gourry yelped as he bolted up from his chair. Looking at his surrounding properly, he was surprised to find himself back in Lina's room. _It WAS a dream......._Gourry thought to himself as he slowly went back to sit on his chair. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember his conversation with the 'disembodied voice' in his dream. _What did he mean.....? Ummmmmmmmmmmm, maybe my dream was trying to tell me something....._But no matter how hard he tried to find the dream's meaning, he was only wasting his time.

"Maybe I'll ask Lina in the morning..................But knowing Lina, I'll bet she'll just say 'It was probably nothing'," Speaking of the sorceress, Gourry turned his attention from his dream to the sleeping figure on the bed. He sighed in relief as he saw her sleeping in an unladylike pose with the blanket halfway on the floor. The only sound that he could hear were the pitter-patter of the rain and Lina's soft snores. But on the other hand, Gourry noticed that now he's probably more exhausted than Lina even though he hadtaken his nap on the chair.

Ignoring his tiredness, he picked up the fallen blanket and gently placed it back on the sleeping sorceress before moving quietly towards the room's window.

_I wonder what time it is.......? _

He silently thought to himself as he gazes at the dark clouds obviously not noticing the clock hanging on the opposite wall due to his tiredness. '_Until 'that' time, Gourry Gabriev...'_ the disembodied voice's suddenly echoed clearly in his head. "Now I know I need to talk to someone about this!" He quickly clamped his mouth shut as he heard Lina tossing and turning in her bed.

_In the morning then......_And with that, he forced his tired body back on his sleeping quarter; his chair, to claim back the rest of his sleep.

* * *

"Good morning!" Lina chirply greeted her friends as she merrily walked down the stairs, fully in her sorceress attire. Zel and the others were sitting near a table currently having a quiet breakfast but her cheery greeting had lifted up their mood as smiles fleeted on their faces at the sight of her.

"Lina-san! How are you feeling?" Sylphiel asked worriedly, putting aside her plate while the others just looked at her before stiffling a yawn. Lina looked at her companions, confuse, before batting her hand in respond as she took a seat next to them.

"Man, you guys worry too much. The pain is gone and I'm fully recharge. I would have thought that after all we've been through, you guys would know that it will take more than that to finish off the sorceress supreme Lina Inverse. Heh, what about you guys? Couldn't sleep because of little 'ol me?" She directed the question towards the princess and the chimera for their earlier yawning with a sly smile as she called for the waiter.

Amelia and Zelgadis looked at each other for a second before turning the other direction, mumbling a silent '....not exactly...', a hint of pink visible on their faces while Sylphiel just giggled at their reaction. Fortunately for the two of them, they were spared from Lina's crude remark as her attention was still glued to the waiter.

"Waiter, bring me two Special Morning Set. For now!" The same waiter who had served them yesterday cursed at his luck when hearing Lina's 'For now' words, recieving a sympathy pat on the back from the innkeeper.

Remembering the innkeeper's generosity for lending them the first aid kit, Amelia took the chance to thank him again. Glancing at the innkeeper, Lina spoked, "Ah, did he help too? In that case, I owe you a thanks too, mister!" The innkeeper smiles at Lina's gratitude.

"Haha, you can thank me by having a big breakfast!" he replied in laughter while the waiter just gawked in disbelief before sobbing his way towards the kitchen.

Lina put a hand behind her head as she answered him, "Oh, you can bet on that once Gourry is here!" And then it hit Zel and the others, Gourry was not with Lina.....

"Umm, speaking of Gourry-sama, where is he?" Sylphiel was the first to ask..

"Oh, don't worry. That jellyfish is still in the room sleeping," she replied with the same happy expression.

Zelgadis looked at her funny, "And you didn't wake him up why?"

Lina turned to look at the kitchen as she waited for her breakfast and because she was hiding her blush because apparently Zel and the others knew that she and Gourry had shared the same room, "Well I did. But, his face was pale when I tried to wake him up. I figure that he was still exhausted from yesterday. So I levitated him on the bed and went downstairs,"

"Hmmm,"

Confused by the chimera's respond, Lina asked, "What is it, Zel?"

Zel's trained of thoughts were interrupted and he turned his attention to the curious sorceress, "Oh, it's probably nothing but I remember that yesterday after Gourry defeated those two Mazoku, I saw him wearing this weird expression......" he trailed off, eyes on the table.

"What do you mean 'weird'?" Lina asked as she quirked an eyebrow.

Zel looked at her with the swordsman's weird behaviour still fresh in his mind, "Well, I know this might sound strange but his eyes were blank and expressionless," He described with a serious expression.

Amelia stood up as she gave them her opinion, "Maybe he was just furious. It **was** Lina-san who got hurt,"

_What's that suppose to mean!?_ Lina mentally yelled as she felt the blushing coming back again. But Sylphiel knew that Amelia's opinion was reasonable, but the chimera didn't buy it.

Zel shook his head, "No, this is disturbingly blank and expressionless. A very uncharacteristic like of Gourry,"

Somehow, the way Zel described it brought a sudden cold feeling in the pit of her stomach, "Did you see anything else?" Lina quietly asked after a long silence.

Even Sylphiel felt somehow depressed with Zel's words, "Gourry-sama.......Maybe it has something to do with those Mazoku," she tried to reason with Zelgadis as the thought of her Gourry-sama becoming like what Zel had described was impossible for her to believe.

"I don't think so. They were too keen on killing Lina," Zel stated his point again which kinda annoys the Sairaag shrine maiden a little.

"But they missed Lina-san's vital organ. Unforgivable! Not only did they hurt you, Lina-san! They insult you with unjust words too! But alas, justice has truimph!" Amelia spoked in her usual justice self as she pointed a finger towards the ceiling, eyes shining with love.....for justice of course.

"Wait a minute! Amelia, did you say they insult me?" the sorceress' voice broked the justice mood. Amelia and Sylphiel peered at her in disbelieving eyes.

But only Zelgadis had a blank expression on his face, "....if you're trying to get your revenge, you're already too late," he stated in an emotionless tone.

BONK! Came the sound as the chimera's face violently connected to the table.

"Ow.." the muffled sound was heard making the shrine maidens sweatdropped.

"No, no, my lovely sweet dear Zelgabunny," Lina sweetly said although her words were dripping with sarcasm, recieving a muffled 'Hei' from him as she was still pushing his head down on the table, "What I'm trying to say is. If they were, as you say it, 'keen' on killing me, they should have finish me off rather than mocking me! Changing the topic, what did they say exactly!!!!!" her tone change to her usual loudness and Zel had to pay the price as he felt the pressure on his head increases.

Sylphiel and the unmoving chimera thanked Amelia mentally as she diverted the topic, "Maybe they didn't notice that their attack miss......?"

Lina removed her hand from Zel's head as she huffed, feeling displease for two reason. One because of the fact that the princess was changing the subject and the other reason was because of her statement, "Yeah right! As if the Lord Of Nightmare would be dumb enough to create idiotic Mazokus,"

* * *

"Achoo!"

"I didn't know you could sneeze, oka-sama?" the Beastmaster's priest, who was currently kneeling in front of the Golden Lord asked in confusion while casting secret glances towards her.

"Neither do I..........Anyway, where was I?" she asked herself but quickly continue, giving Xellos no chance to answer her, "Ah, yes. So what's your report,"

"Aha, it seems that provoking large amount of negative emotions from Gourry-san is harder that I thought," Xellos sheepishly answered while getting back on his feet. The Lord Of Nightmare merely shook her head in disbelief at him.

"You have been living with humans for more than a thousand years now. So you must have learn about their nature," she spoked with a hint of exasperation.

"I do know about their nature and I already know the ways to invoke negative emotions from them," Xellos told her sternly as he tried to defend his pride.

"Amuse me,"

"Anger, grief, sadness, all of these can be drawn out from the humans by either hurting them physically or emotionally. But, between the two, emotional pain is harder for them to recover which is why I choose that pain to invoke negative energy from Gourry-san. First, I had tried to attack his emotion directly using those crude rambling of mine," Xellos smiled sinisterly to himself as he remembered how delighted he was to see the Slayers' reaction.

"But it failed," her simple respond shook away the smile on his face instantly and once again the thought of still unable to complete his task brought frustrationto Xellos.

"...yes. The next attack I directed to his most imprtant person," he continued, this time using a more serious tone.

"Well then. You already now what to do,"

Xellos was confused with the Lord Of Nightmare's words, "But, Lina Inverse is already injured, oka-sama. And still the sworsdman's negative energy was not enough," he explained to her but still her expression never changed. There was a long pause before she let out a sigh.

"Let me get straight to my point. What is the most frightening thing to a normal human being?"

"....death.....But surely you don't suggest that I **kill** Lina Inverse?" Xellos' eyes widen at the thought.

"No I never said that. I merely suggest faking her death,"

Xellos put a hand on his chin as he ponders at her suggestion, "That could work. I've seen Gourry-san went emotionally unstable when he thought Lina-san was dead.....But the question is how.......Asking Lina-san to fake her death is out of the question. So, that means I have to found someone that looks similar to her," he stopped as he tried to think of a candidate suitable for the job.

"or a monster,"

Xellos arched an eyebrow at her statement, "Oh, do you know someone right for the job?" He unconsciously smiled as he saw the grin on her face.

* * *

"Who is it?" a low voice menacingly spoked as it sense a present nearby.

Xellos revealed himself behind a large tree, "Ah, don't worry. I'm just a friend," he stated with a smile.

A few minutes ago, the Lord Of Nightmare had told him of a certain man-eating being who had the ability to change it's appearance which lives deep in a vast forest. The being who was called the 'Mimic' by the humans used this ability to lure unexpected people who carelessly ventured in the forest into their doom by shapeshifting into it's victim's most beloved person. But, what special about this being is that he could see the victim's memories. This allows it to act perfectly as the real person. That is why until now, no one can seem to destroy the creature. The only way to survive him was to avoid using the forest path and using the longer path around it instead.

The creature looked at the him suspiciously, "Mazoku is no friend of mine......" the Mimic spoked in a threatening voice, disrupting Xellos' thought.

"Well, yes. Mazoku are troublesome fellows, aren't they. But, I'm here on business," the smile on his face never fading.

"...not interested," the Mimic started to move away but abruptly stopped when Xellos teleported right in front of him with one eye slit open.

"I see. Hmm, you have such a special abilty but too bad you don't have to use it anymore in the place where I'm going to send you now," Xellos threatened cheerfully as he lifted his staff closer to the Mimic's neck. There was a short silence before it started to speak again.

"...What do you want with me?" the Mimic's voice was slightly less menacing as he submit defeat to the mysterious priest's power. Xellos smiles wider as he lowers his staff down.

"I want you to help me in my plan by shapeshifting into a certain sorceress,"

* * *

"Achoooo!"

"Lina-san, did you catch a cold?"

**To Be Continue...**

**

* * *

**

**Ranting :**

**Kaeru Soyokaze : **Good for you! No one can resist Xellos' charm XP

**BlueJellyFish : **Ohoho! I really appreciate that you put my story under your favs!

Lina: Look what you have done! You made her ego as big as Naga's!

Naga: Ohohoho! We meet again Lina Inverse!

Lina: .....................I must be dreaming........Yeah....That must be it.....

Thanks for the compliment. I'll try to update faster!

Zel: Impossible.....

**Anee : **I'm glad you like my story.

**Gerao-A** No, no Ramon. Xellos did get Gourry's negative energy, but it was still not enough. Sorry if I didn't describe it properly....

Xellos: Hehe, I'm really showing my Mazoku side in this story! And I enjoy it!!

**CT : **They are nosie, aren't they? Glad you like it!

**ethereal-tenshi : **So, you like Zelgabunny, eh?

Zel: Please stop calling me that!

I'll make sure he'll get Amelia's love!

Zel/Amelia: ::Blush::

But then, your quote 'But glad you are against Z/L'.....::sniff sniff:: it's like you don't know me. With my Lina Pink comic you and Safuraa read at school, I thought I clearly stated that I really, REALLY love the L/G pairing. I only support the canon couples but......I don't know....I've been wondering towards L/X pairing fanfics recently.....I think I'm- What the hell am I saying!!! Just for that I'm going to put more L/G mushyness in this story!!

Lina: ::mentally squeels in delight while maintaning a disgust expression::

Xellos: .............I don't mind if there were no pairings at all............

**Kristall : **Hehe, glad you find it amusing! I aim to please!

**Author's Note :**

Yumekage: Uhhmm, I know that my exams is not over yet but I need something to do beside studying (and playing PS2).......So here I am!

Lina: Oh no. She's back! That means that our fanfic-free holiday is over!

Zel: What a dissapointment. ::sips coffee::

Amelia: Yes, how true Zellykins. ::sips Coke::

Gourry: You damn right, fool! ::smokes cigar::

Yumekage: Oh my god! What the hell have you all been doing in this past few weeks!!! ::snatch Coke from Amelia and the cigar from Gourry:: C'mon, C'mon!! Be IC again!! ::punches all of them::

Lina & Zel: HEI!!! I'm still sane you know!!!!!!

Gourry: W-What....happened......? Ugh, why does my breath stinks.....?

Amelia: Aaah! W-What is this aftertaste on my tongue......?

Yumekage: Hurry both of you! Wash that evil taste in your mouth with this!!! Lina and Zel too!!!! ::hands over four mugs of outrageously, overly, pure, dark, bitter coffee::

Lina: What!? Sorry but I don't dr-umph!! ::forced to drink::

Zel: Don't mind if I do. ::drinks the coffee::

Gourry & Amelia: ::chugs down the coffee::

Minna: ::spits it back out:: YECH!!!! Ptui! Ptui!!!!

Yumekage: Ahahahaha! Well that's your punishment for now since I don't have that much free time in my hand at the time being.....

Xellos: Ahahaha!

Minna: ::while still spitting out the bitter taste in their mouths:: Hei! What about he's punishment!!!! Ptui! Ptui!!!!

Yumekage: Well because he's in my story, I can make him able to taste it too. So..... ::force the coffee into Xellos' mouth::

Xellos: ::instantly fell unconscious with the coffee pouring out of his mouth::

Yumekage: .......umm, you happy now? Now you can go ptui-ing together! To all the readers, please don't forget to review and if you like, you can give any suggestions to spice up this story! Bye!


	6. The Fake Act

**Hell's Breaking Point**

**Chapter VI - The Fake Act**

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers, if I did, my house would be filled with Slayers' merchandises

Xellos was assigned a perculiar errand by the Lord Of Nightmare. At first, it was just a simple taunting game but as time goes by, the errand became more extreme until............. (Mostly L/G and Z/A) - Takes place after Next and before Try.

Japanese Words:

Oka-sama : Mother aka L.O.N.

Yare yare : Oh boy....(something like that)

Mazoku : Evil race/Monster

Minna : Everyone

* * *

We find our lovable heroes once again back on the roads marching towards Seyruun. They had started the journey again after Gourry (who was still pretty tired) had joined them and after having their big breakfast thanks to the encouragement from the innkeeper. Walking behind Lina, the blonde swordsman yawned for the fifteenth time this morning.

Sure she had thought that Gourry was just tired from the battle but listening to him yawning again and again.....and again made her thinking otherwise, "Gourry, are you sure you're okay? If you're still tired we can stop for a while," the sorceress asked in a worry tone for the third time today.

Gourry placed a hand on his mouth to stiffled another yawn which just worries Lina more, "No, we don't have to do that. Our journey to get Sylphiel back to Seyruun has been delayed long enough. I can manage walking there so don't worry," Gourry wearily replied.

Amelia who had been listening to their conversation left Zelgadis snd Sylphiel's side and quicken her pace so that she could catch up with two of them, "Once we get to Seyruun, you can sleep all you want in the palace, Gourry-san," she enthusiastically said with a smile.

"Thanks," he replied gratefully. Gods, soft and fluffy bed sounds so tempting to Gourry right now as he imagined himself sleeping on his dream bed.

"So, Amelia," the chimera from behind suddenly spoked, "What will you do once we reach Seyruun?" He didn't know why he had asked the question and he didn't bother to find the reason.

Lina perked up at the question and turned around to face Amelia, "Ah! That's right Amelia! Are you gonna stay at the palace or join us?" she asked. She was hoping that Amelia would stick to the group. Hei, she might be a justice fanatic but the more the merrier and she's the merriest!

But unlike Lina, the little princess's face formed a frown as she drooped her face, "I-I want to follow you in your adventure, Lina-san...but, if I have to stay at the palace then I guess we'll be saying our goodbyes in Seyruun," she said sadly in an unsure voice.

After travelling for almost two years with Lina and the others, being beside them is like a second home for Amelia. Unlike at the palace where she has to act as the responsible princess (since Naga is away at the moment) and carry out her responsibility, being with them somehow liberated her from her duties and she was free from it even for just a short period of time. Not only that, they were her first friend who had treat her as their bubbly and lovable comrade not as the Seyruun's princess (accept for Lina who still tries to use her royalty)

Lina spotted her long face, "Hei, cheer up! If you can't follow us then we'll be sure to visit you lots of time," she told her with a big grin and her grin became wider as she saw a smile on Amelia's face.

"That would be wonderful, Lina-san," she thanked the sorceress, gladness and happiness filled her voice.

Lina secretly peered her eyes at the chimera and an idea popped into her head, "And I'll be sure to drag Zel along with me!" there was a hint of teasing in her voice as she grin slyly at Zel and Amelia.

The princess took the hint and was blushing slightly as she stared at the ground, "Ah! Um, er, okay...."

Zel was surprised to say the least at the her sudden suggestion, "H-ha?"

"What? You have something to complain?" Lina was having fun with this.

Zel took a moment to peeked at Amelia before throwing a glare at Lina who was still smiling coyly at him, "....no....." He answered relunctanly. He saw Amelia drooped her shoulders and cursed at the grinning sorceress. He let out a sigh before trying to make amends, "Don't get me wrong Amelia. It's not that I don't enjoy your company.....It's just that I....I **hate** large, crowded city....." he stutteredly answer, fighting the embarassment.

"Yeah, I can imagine!" Lina laughed as she grabbed her cloak and covered half of her face, "Oh, all those people looking at me. I must hide in my sanctuary!!" she made her best Zel impression in a low tone before guffawing like a maniac. Amelia and Sylphiel couldn't help but giggled at her antics.

But Zel didn't find it close to amusing, "It's not like I want to become this-this stone freak," he spoked in a low and harsh tone. All those terrible past memories came back to haunt him again. The shrine maidens could feel the dark aura emmiting from the chimera and unconsciously took a step away from him.

Lina let out a silent 'oops', "Geez Zel! I was just kidding! No one here thinks of you like that! If you haven't notice we don't treat you like like a freak!"

The chimera stared at her with unfazed eyes, "Yeah, you treat me like I'm some sort of your lackey......" he said in disgust.

Lina fought herself from making a crude remark, "Ahem! What I was trying to say is, we thought of you as a normal human being and as our closest friend," her tone changed from harsh to a soft tone, showing the chimera that what she had just said was from her heart, not something she has just made up.

"That's right, Zelgadis-san. No matter what you think about yourself, our friendship will never change," Amelia continues as she gave him a soft smile.

Zelgadis looked at the two, a slight surprise shone in his eyes, "....thank you," he softly said, touched by their words, and he couldn't help but returning their smiles.

While enjoying the tender moment, a question made it's way into Lina's head, "But you know. You've been following me and Gourry for quiet some time now. I'm surprised that you didn't went off on you're own again," she asked puzzily. That was true. Usually after they had beaten some dark lords or high level Mazoku, Zel would usually went off on his own again to resume his search for his cure.

Zel let out a dissapointing sigh, "I still haven't found any leads on finding my cure yet. That's why I'm travelling with all of you," he simply stated.

"Oh, you're travelling with us because you want our company? How nice," Lina smiled to herself, feeling proud of herself for being such a great company.

"No. It's because I'm travelling with the greedy bandit killer," Zel ignored the small rock which had just smacked his face thanks to the angry Lina, "Like you said before, never underestimate the bandits' worldwide knowledge about valueble information. Who knows, one of them might know some info about my cure,"

"You don't have to say greedy, you know!" she huffed in protest. Amelia and Sylphiel just let out a nervous laugh.

As the four of them were communicating with each other, they didn't realize that the blonde swordsman was not participating with them as he currently had something on his mind. _It feels like I'm forgetting something....but what was it? Oh man, if it wasn't for that weird dream I would...have..been.......That's right! I forgot to tell Lina about that dream!_ "Lin-" he stopped himself when he saw suspicious looking black mist floating around them.

_Where did that come from..?_

Unfortunately, Lina didn't heard him but she had heard Amelia's panic yelp from behind but when she turned around she was shocked to see nothing but the darkness of the mist, "Gourry! Zel! Amelia! Sylphiel!"she shouted worriedly for her friends name as she blindly searched for them but then sighed in relief when she heard them replied back. _Damn it! What's going on now!?_ She mentally yelled in frustration as she started chanting a spell.

In the mean time, Gourry too was trying to find Lina by listening for her voice and movements when he suddenly felt a sudden powerful, sharp pain on his head and the thoughts to find and protect the sorceress vanish as he collapsed. He never got the chance to see the mysterious figure who had suddenly teleported in front of him nor did he saw the feral grin on the figure's face.

"Bomb De Wind!" Lina yelled as she unleashed the spell slightly hoping that the spell wouldn't blow away the others. When the spell had clear out the black mist, she sighed in relief but then her eyes widen when she saw Zel, Amelia and Sylphiel...in a weird position. Zel was kneeling on the ground, one arm covering his face while Amelia and Sylphiel was hugging, uh scratch that..**gropping** the chimera (oh so tightly)

Zel must have noticed his current situation as there was a hint of pink on his face, "LINA! Be careful where you aim that spell!!! Someone might flew who knows where!!" he shouted as he tried to distangled himself from the two shrine maidens. Secretly Zel was glad that his chimera body was able to withstand the wind (But, Amelia and Sylphiel's weight helped too). Noticing that the gushing wind has stopped, Amelia and Sylphiel quickly remove themselves from him before apoligizing to the embarrest chimera.

"Hei, you guys!" she merrily greeted her companions (while trying hard not to burst into laughters) when she noticed that something was out of place.

"...where's Gourry?"

It seems that the three of them too didn't realize the disappearance of the swordsman as they started analyzing their surrounding for Gourry but of course they found him nowhere.

Amelia turned to face Lina, her face showed the sign of nervousness, "M-maybe he was blown away by your spell..." she let out a nervous laugh. Sylphiel let out a gasp and turned towards the sorceress.

"Lina-san! What have you done!" the Sairaag's maiden accused her with a serious face. Lina took a step away from the angry Sylphiel while scratching her head nervously. But, Zel managed to save her from Sylphiel's wrath.

"That's hard to believe. If Gourry did get blown away, wouldn't we hear him scream?" he said in a matter-of-fact manner.

Sylphiel relunctanly gave a small nod before placing a hand on her chest and asked worriedly, "Well then. Where is he?" But no one had the answer...

"Cht, Gourry's 'misplacement' must have been connected to that black mist earlier. What's going on here!? First, Xellos' weird behaviour, then those Mazoku and now Gourry's dissapearance....?" Zel suddenly cursed in frustration which he noticed that it was making the girls (especially Lina and Sylphiel) more tense so he tried to reassure them, "But, wherever Gourry is I'm sure he will be fine. Isn't that right?" He was surprised when the sorceress didn't answered back.

She wanted to reply back to say 'Of course he'll be fine! That jellyfish is the best swordsman there is and he'll be even more invincible with the Sword Of Light!', but nothing came out. For some reason, she felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach which means that something bad is definitely going to happen, to Gourry......

_Gourry....where are you!?_

* * *

"Iteeeee......Oh, my head," Gourry moaned in pain as he rubbed his throbbing head with his hand. It felt like someone just knocked his head, **really **hard. When he opened his eyes, he found himself lying on the ground, with huge trees surrounding him. _What am I doing in a forest? Where are Lina and the others? _He asked himself as he shakily tries to get back on his feet.

The rustling sound behind him shook all his thought away as he focus his attention behind him. Facing the sound, he gasped in horror when he saw the figure in front of him.

"L-Lina..?"

Indeed, just right in front of him stands Lina Inverse. But instead of the cheerful and energetic Lina, the Lina in front of him was far from cheerful and energetic as she hunched against a tree with one hand supporting her, her mouth which was the only part of her face that wasn't covered by her bangs was breathing long and hard. But the worst is, the hunched Lina was covered in dirt and blood. Her shoulder guards and cape were missing and her clothes were torn and battered.

When her knees failed her and she fell to the ground, all other thoughts were pushed aside as Gourry rushed towards her side. When he brought her into his arms, he cupped her face so that she was looking at him. His breath hitched in his throught at the moment he saw her face which was ghostly white and pale.

_God, she must have lost a lot of blood! _Gourry panicly thought.

"I-I waited f-for you to c-come....but..you n-never..came," she quietly whispered to him suddenly, every word she spoked followed by the sputtering of blood from her mouth. For the first time in his life, Gourry was frightened out of his wits but he knew that being panic will not help the situation. So he summoned all his will to calm himself.

"What happened Lina!? Where are Zel and the others?" he asked the pale sorceress in a cracked voice. He tried to figured what had happened when he was seperated from the others, _Did Mazoku attacked them. No! Lina would able to handle them with or without me!_

"I t-thought...you were...s-suppose to be my...guardian...." Gourry's eyes widen at her sudden words. That was not what he wanted to hear from her but somehow that question couldn't stop echoing in his head. Protector....That's right, no matter what he thought, he had sworn to protect Lina with his life forever and he had failed her....He fail to protect her...Now, looking at the sorceress lying weakly in his arms somehow made a mock to his oath to be her protecter and he couldn't help but let out a small whimper as he felt his eyes brimming with tears.

".....Li-Lina...?"

"..I...hate you G-Gourry Gabriev......" that was the last thing she spoke before she went limp in his arms indicating that she has passed away. Gourry's breath suddenly hitched in his throat and for a moment he thought that his heart had stopped beating at the sight of his lifeless companion.

"L-Lina....? Lina?!" his voice was cracked and fear started to consume him. All thoughts about Zel and the others' wherebouts and the person behind Lina's injuriesas vaporized from his mind. He shook her body hoping that somehow she would open her eyes again and would pummeled him like she always did. He did not want to accept reality, he did not want to accept her death but he knew that her death was true as he stare at the cold body in his arms with tears starting to fall from his eyes.

"....Lina....no..." he pleaded as he tighten his grip on his beloved's figure not caring if her blood would stain him. He placed his face at the crook of her neck as countless tears fell from his eyes.

_Oh god.....I never even had the chance to tell her how I really feel about her, to tell her how much I love her........and it's all my fault......_

_Me, her guardian......What a joke........_

_What...a......joke..._

At that moment, Gourry felt so lost. What would he do now? Would he still continue the journey to Seyruun without Lina? _No......not without Lina..... _So, the blonde swordsman sat there with the sorceress in his arms, continuing to shed tears for his beloved, for the part of him which had died with her...

Somewhere not far away from the heartbroken swordsman, Xellos couldn't help but smile as he watch the delightful scenery not only because of the state Gourry was in but also the fact that swordsman was holding the Mimic, a monster.

_Hehe...too bad Gourry-san didn't give 'her' a kiss or two......but now is not the time for fun. _Xellos thought to himself as he focus his attention back to his objective which is Gourry's negative emotions. He tore his gaze from the creature towards Gourry's face and was watching it intently.

_Hmm, maybe it still need some time......Huh? _Xellos was surprised when he saw the swordsman started to stand up and his surprise turn to shock when Gourry's hold on the unmoving figure loosen and the body fell to the ground with a loud thump. The mysterious priest kept switching confuse glances from the lying body on the ground to the swordsman.

"You can stop hiding now Xellos," Gourry suddenly spoked in an emotionless tone.

_H-How did he....!? _Xellos was baffled with Gourry's sudden action but reluctantly comply. "Ah, why if it isn't Gourry-san?" he spoked in a calm manner as he walked from his hiding place and towards the swordsman.

"Why Xellos, I'm hurt," Gourry said in a mocked tone. Xellos stopped his movement as he watch the man in front of him suspiciously.

"It's me, Hellmaster,"

**To Be Continue...**

**

* * *

**

**Ranting :**

**Gerao-A : **Hehe, and there you have it! The 'disembodied voice' from Gourry's dream was Hellmaster Phibrizzo all along. Not Xellos. Oh, and about that lemon Air Jay, well I did thought about including some L/G lemon in this fic but.........between you and me.......if my family (my father especially) founds out that I DID, oh that will be the end of me.........

**Shaman Priest : **Wow, your second review for this fic! ::sniff sniff:: I thought that you had already forgotten about me....Hehehe! Well...yes I did said that the next chapter will be out in December but I guess I'm just random.......Oh, and pray that I will still be a L/G supporter forever!!

**Lady Fiore : **You know what? I think your right! Most of the Xelloses in other Slayers' stories act more like the sly and mischevieous mysterious priest than the cold and heartless Mazoku. Glad that you like my Xellos!

Xellos: Just call me Zelas-sama's sly, cunning, mischevieous, naughty, cold and heartless general!

Don't forget cuddly and lovable!

Xellos: ........am NOT!!!

**Kaeru Soyokaze : **Oh, another canon coupling lover! Hehe, if you're a canon dork than that must be I'm even more canon dorkier!

Zel: But didn't you just said on that last chapter that you're staring to like X/L coupling?

.....................I said that I'm even more canon dorkier!

Lina & Xellos: Lets hope you are!!

**BlueJellyFish :** Uh, don't worry I won't hurt Gourry! _I'll hurt him emotionally....hehehe..he_

Gourry: You do know that I can hear you whispering to yourself...

.....ah? W-what are you talking about Gourry-chyaaan ::smiles:: !!

**Slayers no miko : **Ummm, you know, you don't have to go for all the trouble to give a review for every chapter. You can just put all your comments from chapter I to chapter V in just one review.

Lina: Even though Yumekage said that, we all know that she's damn happy about getting 4 extra review...

Ahahahaha! Tralalalala! Woohooooo!

Lina: See what I mean?

**Kristall : **Hehe, thanks for finding my author's note entertaining!

Minna: It's NOT because it's only entertaining for you and the readers!

Shuddup foo'!

Minna: ..........foo'?

**Author's Note :**

Yumekage: ::sniff sniff:: Now isn't that a sad chapter...

Gourry: How can I fall for that simple trap!?

Minna: Ha?

Gourry: I mean, if that was the real Lina, she should have said something like this. Ahem, 'Jellyfish, where were you!' or 'Damn it Gourry, stop standing there and find me a healer!' or 'Geez Gourry! You were relaxing here all a long while we fought some Mazoku!' or 'Idiot Gou-'

Lina: I GET IT ALREADY!!

Zel & Amelia: _I agree with Gourry......_

Yumekage: Well, that's true. Gourry is a bit more observative when it comes to Lina.

Lina: WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSE TO MEAN!?

Yumekage: ::ignores Lina:: But, at that moment you're better judgement was clouded by fear and other emotions. So, you can't think properly.

Gourry: Oh, now I get it! ::smiles proudly::

Yumekage: Now, Lina! Stop being such a brat! Gourry just cried for you in this chapter. And he never cries! (I think...)

Lina: Well, that, I mean- ehm..... ::blushing profusely::

Yumekage: So here's my question. Would Lina cry like that for Gourry?

Lina: WHAT!? ::blushing madly::

Zel: Heh, it's **too **obvious, is it not?

Amelia: Of course, she would!

Lina: .....................well it's normal to cry when a close friend is seriously injured..

Zel & Amelia: ::whisper to each other:: ...close friend...?

Yumekage: I bet that Lina will be all whiny and cries a river no- a sea for Gourry. Then she get all hysterical and then commits suicide!

Minna: ..................................................................

Yumekage: Hei, it could happen.

Lina: Hell no! No way I'm gonna commit suicide! I'm to young and beautiful to die.

Amelia: ::whispers to Zel:: Did you realize that she didn't deny the 'becomes whiny and becomes hysterical' part.

Zel: .....I'm beginning to worry for her...

Xellos: Lina-san, if you want to commit suicide, you can call me anytime to 'assist' you!

Phibby: And if you have the urge to cast the Giga Slave, call me! ::grins::

Minna: ::glares at them::

Xellos & Phibby: Oya! Why are you all emmiting such negative emotion? ::smiles cheerfully::


	7. Inner Conflict

**Hell's Breaking Point**

**Chapter VII – Inner Conflict**

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers…..I just don't…..

Xellos was assigned a peculiar errand by the Lord Of Nightmare. At first, it was just a simple taunting game but as time goes by, the errand became more extreme until............. (Mostly L/G and Z/A) - Takes place after Next and before Try.

Japanese Words:

Oka-sama : Mother aka L.O.N.

Oni-san : Big brother

Yare yare : Oh boy....(something like that)

Mazoku : Evil race/Monster

Minna : Everyone

Warning! There will be plenty of swearing from Lina at the end of this chapter so be prepare….

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"Hellmaster..?" Xellos repeated the name, unsure of what he had just heard. The man in front of him smirked at his confusion.

"Don't tell me you've already forgotten about Ruby Eye-sama's number one subordinate?" he teasingly asked as he smoothed his long blonde hair.

"But that's impossible! I saw oka-sama kill you!" Xellos was baffled by the Hellmaster's sudden appearance, _How could he have survived the Lord Of Nightmare's attack!? And-_

"How did you get into Gourry-san's body!?"

The smirk on Gourry's face never faded, "Shocking, isn't it? To think that I was able to possess this human body," Phibrizzo calmly said as he pumped a fist into the air.

"Aah, I never had a buff physical body before. This is nice," he continued as he analyzed his new body. As Hellmaster was strutting manly in front of the mysterious priest, he didn't notice the disbelief look still plastered on the other's face.

Xellos was still having a hard time swallowing the fact, _No one, not even a Dark Lord can survive oka-sama's wrath, but-_

"It seems that you need an explanation from me," Hellmaster suddenly spoke as he put a hand on his hip, "Before oka-sama could finish me off, I managed to transfer what's left of my spirit into this body. And since some of my power which I had used to control this human was still inside of him, the chances of me succeeding in possessing it increases. But, unlike those lesser demos where they merged with the other spirit, I merely divided mine from the human's. You can say that this body now contains two spirit or souls,"

Xellos' surprised face disappeared and was replaced by his usual calmness, "Are you still a pure Mazoku then?" It was suppose to be a simple question but somehow it came out as an insult.

Gour- uh, Phibrizzo's eyes narrowed at the sudden question, "Don't mock me, Xellos. I'm still a pure Mazoku but the only exception is that this human body is now a part of me," he replied in disgust.

But Xellos was still being persistent, "So, you're saying that you are half Mazoku, half human?" He knew how greatly Phibrizzo will be insulted by that statement since for the Mazoku, they only thought of human as nothing more but some low-life and as their prey.

And he was right, "If not because I'm still recovering my powers back, I would have killed you for that remark," Phibrizzo answered in a threatening tone as he balled up his fists.

A sly smile cracked on Xellos' lips, "Ah, does that mean that at this moment I can manage to destroy you?"

"Try me,"

There was a drawn out pause. Even though learning that Phibrizzo was now part human had lowered Xellos' respect for the Hellmaster, he still knew how powerful he is even with half of his power, "What happened to Gourry-san?" Xellos changed the topic using a calmer tone.

Hellmaster's frown disappeared only to be replaced by a smug expression, "Oh, his spirit is still inside. It's just that now I am dominant over this body," he spoke, ignoring Xellos' earlier statements.

The mysterious priest was still trying to figure out howbeing both Mazoku and a humanwill work for Phibrizzo, _Maybe oka-sama knows something…Heh, Perhaps I could have my own fun with these new circumstances, _"So then, what are you're plans from now on?"

"Do what I was created to do. Bringing this world back to chaos," Hellmaster spoke with an evil grin.

"Let me guess. With the help of Lina-san's Giga Slave?" Xellos' asked remembering his past experience with the Hellmaster.

But to his surprise, Phibrizzo just looked at him in confusion, "Lina Inverse?" he suddenly spoke before setting his gaze at the bloody figure on the ground, "Isn't she dead?" he gave the unmoving figure a hard kick that send it flying crash unto a tree nearby.

_Hmm, this body's strength is more powerful than the rest of those puny humans. I better learn how to control it._

"There's no reason to kick it since it's not Lina," Phibrizzo turned his attention towards the talking priest.

"Meet Mimic," Xellos continued as he pointed his staff tpwards the limping figure. Phibrizzo turned and saw 'Lina' changing it's appearance back to it's original form before groaning in pain.

"……my bad," the Hellmaster plainly said.

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"Gourry!!"

After Gourry's disappearances, Lina and the others had started a search to find him and after countless minutes they knew that it was a useless attempt since they had a lot of ground to cover. But that didn't stop Linafrom ordering the others to split up and continuing to search for the missing swordsman.

Each passing minutes made Lina's worries rising, _Damn it Lina! Calm yourself! _She mentally scolded herself as she tightened her fists before connecting one of them violently on a tree's trunk. Exhaustion took over the sorceress' body as she collapsed against the tree.

_Cht, Gourry's 'misplacement' must have been connected to that black mist earlier. What's going on here!? First, Xellos' weird behaviour, then those Mazoku and now Gourry's disappearance,_Zel's statement came back into her mind. Somehow, Lina knew that there was something off withthe chimera's wordsso she forced her brain to find out what it was.

"Lina-san…?"

Lina quickly jerked herself away from the tree to find the others standing behind her giving her a worried look.

She was not in the mood to receive sympathy from the others. It made her look weak, "Did youfind anything?" she impatiently asked but when the others suddenly cast their glances towards the ground, she already knew the answer.

"Gaaah! Where is that stupid jellyfish!" she suddenly yelled in frustration as she let her emotions engulfed her.

Zelgadis folded his arms against his chest, "Calm down. Letting rage consume you is not helping the situation," he calmly said hoping that Lina would follow his advice. But he received the opposite of what he had hoped for.

"Shut up Zel!! How can you asked me to calm down when who knows what happened to Gourry!?" she yelled in anger as she stomped one foot on the ground, releasing all her frustration and anger towards the chimera.

"Well being angry and yelling at others are not helping us finding him, is it!" Zelgadis yelled back with a hard tone. Lina was ready to make another heat comeback but the chimera quickly cut her off. "You think you're the only one who's worried about Gourry!? If you haven't notice, we are as worry as you are but we don't go lashing at other people, do we!!" The chimera was starting to get really irritated at the sorceress sudden outburst.

That was the last straw for Lina as she shook her fists violently, "You know what Zel! You're starting to really annoy me!! Why don't you just get lost and continue that search for that stupid cure of yours, huh!!!" she practically screamed on the last part as her rage completely took over her actions.

"Lina-san!!" both Amelia and Sylphiel yelled at her angrily for her crude statement but their words didn't reach Lina nor Zelgadis.

The chimera was taken back, "Stupid? Stupid!? You don't know what I have been through because of this body!!!" he roared at the sorceress. Knowing there maybe hope for curing his condition was the only reason why he is still breathing in this world. And she called it stupid!? He had killed so many people, willing to do the most despicable job just to obtain that cure. Just to become human again…..

But Lina didn't feel anything but anger towards Zelgadis at that moment, "Well then, why don't you go and cure your hideous, god-forsaken body!!" she roared back hinting that she didn't give a damn about his condition. Zel's eyes widen at her respond, his hands was shaking as they made their way to his hood before engulfing his face with it. He was shocked. Didn't she had just said that she didn't thought of him as a freak? Wasn't she.…his friend?

"..you disgust me," the chimera quietly said after a long silence, his unreadable expression was covered behind his hood. Suddenly, he turned his back towards the sorceress and started to walk away. At that moment, something clicked in Lina's head as she saw the retreating figure but before she could call out for him, Amelia had already started sprinting towards the moving chimera.

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"Zelgadis-san, wait!" Amelia yelled from behind but Zelgadis didn't decrease his pace.

"Forget it Amelia. I'm not going to be mocked by Lina or anyone anymore. I'm tired of this stupid life already…," he replied tiredly in a quiet voice not even bother to look at her. There was no respond for a while so Zelgadis had thought that Amelia had given up. But, he was so wrong…

"Zel…gadis-san….please. At….least listen to….what I…have to….say," Amelia suddenly spoke, every word followed by a large gasp. When Zel turned around to see what was wrong, he was shocked to see the princess carrying a very large boulder with two hands, her face showing that she was having a hard time supporting the weight as she gritted her teeth.

"Amelia! What are- Oi!" Zelgadis yelped when Amelia suddenly flung the boulder towards him. The chimera could only stare at the incoming boulder before it crashed unto him, pinning him against the ground.

Amelia gave out a big gasp of relief before dusting her hands, "You can't blame Lina-san for being like that," she started to speak as she walked towards the trapped chimera.

"Wha-" was the only muffled reply from him.

"Gourry-san is missing and you know that it bothers Lina-san a **lot**, more than you, Sylphiel-san and me combine. Not only that but recent events are eating her away. She's just afraid that she might lose him like at the time with Hellmaster Phibrizzo," she tried to reason with him. But the chimera didn't respond back so she decided to continue.

"I know that you won't forgive her for what she said but we all know that she didn't mean it! You have been traveling with Lina-san for about two years now, you should know by now that she will say or do something drastic to hide her own weaknesses,"

Still no respond from him.

"Hiding your own weaknesses…..Of all people, you should know about that, Zelgadis-san," she said softly in a sad tone.

"Amelia…."

"Please Zelgadis-san. Lina-san is so vulnerable now without Gourry-san by her side. Who knows what she will do in her current state," Amelia pleaded, hoping that he would come around.

There was a long silence.

"….get this boulder off me,"

Her hopes were crushed at his words, knowing that he would never join the group again. But before she could help him free, he started to speak again.

"We have tohurry back and rescue Sylphiel from the exploding sorceress," He let out a small chuckle, showing the princess that he's willing to go back.

"Eh? Really!? I knew that you're on the side of Justice!" Amelia was ecstatic by his real answer while the chimera was muttering something about not wanting to be an ally of justice, "Hold on Zelgadis-san! I'll get this boulder off of you!" she said in her usual energetic tone.

"Justice Hammer!!!"

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At the same moment, Sylphiel and Lina were also having their own conversation.

"Lina-san, that was an awful thing to say," Sylphiel scolded her, but she managed to use a softer tone. After Amelia had chased after Zelgadis, Sylphiel found that she was the only one left to comfort the sorceress. She knew that Lina didn't say those words on purpose and she also knew how broken up she is without Gourry, which is an upsetting news to the shrine maiden.

"…Lina-san?" the shrine maiden called out again when the sorceress didn't respond.

"…I'm sorry…" there was hesitation in Lina's voice as she spoke, but the tone she used showed her sincerity.

Sylphiel was surprised to hear a sincere apology from her, "T-then why didn't you tell him that?"

Instead of continuing being gloomy, Lina's sudden mood swing came back, "I don't know, okay! My brain wasn't functioning properly," she said in a hard and frustrated tone.

"..Lina-san,"

Lina's eyes narrowed at her words, "Damn it, Sylphiel! Stop pitying me!! I don't need yours or anyone's sympathy!" she yelled before turning her back towards the shrine maiden.

The shrine maiden was baffled at her sudden change of attitude, "But I was just-"

Lina turned her head to looked at her, "What? Worry? Don't treat me like I'm some kid okay!? I can take care of myself!"

SLAP!!

Lina stared dumbfounded at the shrine maiden while one hand touched her sore cheek. That was new. Sylphiel had slapped her! The sorceress just stood there as no certain action came to mind.

"Listen to yourself! Yes you are strong! Yes you can cast the most powerful spell! But without us, without your trusting friends, you probably won't last long with all those past events! So stop thinking that you can manage everything by yourself and stop thinking of us as some nuisance!" Sylphiel was closed to yelling but she was able to maintain her anger.

Lina's eyes widen but she quickly casts her gaze to the ground, "S-Sylphiel……I'm sorry….It's just that I feel like trash right now…." She quietly replied.

A soft smile crossed the shrine maiden's lips, "Well that's what friends are for, comforting each other, sticking with each other no matter if the situation is bad or good. So, don't exhaust yourself anymore, Lina-san. You can always count on me, Amelia-san, and…Zelgadis-san if you need any help. And right now, we'll help you get Gourry-sama back," she said reassuringly.

Lina looked back at her before the same smile spreads on her face, "…Thanks," she bashfully replied.

Sylphiel's eyes diverted away from the sorceress, "Speaking of friends, here they are now,"

Lina turned her head to find Amelia and Zelgadis (who was not wearing his hood anymore) walking towards them. Seeing the returning of the chimera, the sorceress unconsciously put a hand behind her head before gulping in nervousness.

"Oh, and Lina-san, I'm sorry that I…slapped you.." Sylphiel quickly whispered closed to her ear while wearing an ashamed expression.

The hand behind Lina's head started to scratch it lightly, "Hehe, well, lets just call it a wake up call," she let out a weak laugh.

Sylphiel giggled at her before returning her attention towards the other two, "Welcome back,"

Zelgadis just nod in reply. As for Amelia, she made a victory sign with her hand, smiling all the way.

"Z-Zel.." Lina suddenly spoke in a stuttered voice, forcing herself to look at him.

The chimera gazed at her clouded eyes, already knew what she was trying to say, "It's okay, Lina," he said to her.

Lina shook her head, "No, I need to say it anyway. I'm sorry,"

Zelgadis mentally smile since getting an apology from the sorceress was very rare, "Well, it's partially my fault that the conversation went out of hand. I know how much you want Gourry back beside you safe and sound," The chimera ignored the flushed look on her face, "And we will, with the help of everyone. Just to be on the safe spot, lets not include Xellos in the group again….."

Something clicked in her mind at the mention of that name, _…Xellos? Xellos!! _

"That's it!" Lina exclaimed out loud, punching a hand into her other fist.

Zelgadis looked at her quizzically, "What is it?"

But Lina ignored him as her face turned back to her usual bad-ass expression, "I'm gonna have a BF," she quietly said with an evil grin on her face.

"A what?" the chimera asked out loud, puzzled by her behavior, but for some reason he didn't want to know what a BF is.

Amelia moved closer to him, "Bitch Fit. Don't ask how I know that…." She whispered weakly to him. The chimera's confusion just doubled at her explanation but judging by the shrine maidens' action; plugging their ears with their hands, he knew that it can't be good.

Suddenly the smirk on Lina's face disappeared, "Xellos!!! Get your bloody fucking astral ass over here right NOW!!!!" she yelled, frightening the other three.

"Xellos!?" the three of them asked simultaneously. But Lina didn't bother to explain as a figure suddenly teleported in front of her.

"Yare yare, what's all the commotion?" Xellos asked calmly, wearing his usual cheery expression.

"I know that you're somehow behind Gourry's disappearance!! So just tell me where he is!! And don't give me that 'Sore wa himitsu desu' crap!!" Lina clenched her teeth as she said it.

Xellos scratched his head, "Wow, was it that obvious?" His smile growing wider by the minute.

Lina's eyes widen, "What!? Why you bloody-good-for-nothing shit!" she cursed at him as she tried to grab him but Xellos managed to jump out of the way.

Xellos waved his hands defensively, "Hei, don't get so angry since I was just doing what I was ordered to," He made a mock pout which just irritates Lina more.

"I don't care if-if the Lord Of Nightmare ordered you! Just tell me where he is!!" Xellos mentally chuckled at her, _Oh, you don't know how right you are Lina-san!_

The mysterious priest put a hand under his chin, pretending to ponder about giving her the answer, "Unfortunately, I can't tell you that. But I can tell you that he is out of harm. Heh, only a moron would attack him at his current state," he snickered to himself.

Lina quirked an eyebrow as suspicion started to build in, "What do you mean 'at his current state'?"

"You'll find out soon enough," There was something disturbing about how he had answered and it bothers Lina a lot.

"When can I have him back?" Lina asked menacingly as she folded her arms against her chest.

The mysterious priest snapped his fingers, "Oh, he's on his way to your current destination right now. You better hurry, who knows what mischief he would start there! See ya!" He gave them a short goodbye wave before disappearing into thin air.

Lina stomped the ground furiously, "That fuc-" But fortunately for both of the shrine maiden's ears, Zelgadis had cut her off.

"No time to curse now, Lina. We better hurry to Seyruun," he said to her calmly but his face showed the same anger she felt for the Mazoku.

"Ah, right!" And with that the four of them started sprinting towards their main destination, Seyruun.

Because they were rushing towards their destination, they didn't found out the true reason for Lina's sudden mood swings. And the coming of Lina'stime of the month will surely make their confrontation with the Hellmaster even worse.

**To Be Continue…**

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**Ranting :**

**Gerao-A : **Hmmmm, this story is kinda similar to your Trust and Betrayal fic, isn't it? Well, since there will lots of Lina and Gourry's angst, I guess you can say that! Hear that Lina, Gourry, **lots** of angst!

Lina & Gourry: ……I'm scared…..

**CT : **Well, the true reason why Hellmaster is still alive is connected to the Lord Of Nightmare. It'll be explained soon.

**Kaeru Soyokaze : **Fortunately for you, there'll be plenty of Z/A moments in this story and don't worry about Gourry-kins! He's still uh,…..somewhere in his body….

Gourry: ….why did you hesitate to answer…….?

No reason….hehe....

**Slayer no miko : **Thanks for the compliment XD. And I hope that this chapter has answered your question about Phibby's appearance. And about Gourry…..Lina take it away!

Lina: …….all will be explain in future chapters…..But I want to know what happen-

Next review please.

Lina: ::cursing under her breath::

**Shaman Priest : **Wow, you replaced your Lina and Xellos muses with Yoh? Cool, but I don't think those two will like it….

Lina: I don't care coz I'll get more free time with my lovely food.

Xellos: What Lina-san is trying to say is that she'll get more free 'alone time' with Gourry-san.

Lina: ::blush:: I did not said that!!!!

Xellos: ::smiles:: Well, your mind surely did.

Lina: Why you namagomiest namagomi eating namagomi!!!!!!

Xellos: Tsk, tsk Lina-san. Don't stoop yourself lower than that barbarous dragon.

Filia: Namagomi!!!!! Die!! ::swings mace-sama::

Okay, this is getting way out of hand……

**BlueJellyFish : **Haha, so many similar question. But don't worry of course those two will be together! I'll make sure of it!

Lina: ::blush::

Gourry: …..?

It's just that there will be plenty of pain in the way of their reunion!

Lina & Gourry: ….more pain?!

**Author's Note :**

Yumekage: Man, I love when people fight!

Zel: I'm beginning to think that you're actually are a Mazoku….

Yumekage: Well, unfortunately I'm not...

Lina: .....that time of the month!? Now!? How am I suppose to fight the bad guys now!?

Yumekage: Yes, it's sucks, isn't it?

Xellos: Hei, it's a good thing that Phibby-san possessed a man instead of a woman's body. Then he won't have to suffer like you Lina-san!

Lina: Are you saying letting Hellmaster possessing Gourry is okay!?

Xellos: Oh Lina-san....don't be so angry with me...I'm still trying to recover from the fact that you cursed at me! How could you! Boo-hoo..

Amelia: Xellos-san! Are you trying to hit on Lina-san? But what about Filia-san?

Xellos: ...........Amelia-san, please don't make me puke by saying THAT name!

Lina & Zel: ::looks at each other:: Filia! Filiaa! Filiaaa!! ::grins::

Filia: Yes? Did someone call me?

Lina & Zel: Xellos did. He said that you're the only golden dragon he loves.

Xellos & Filia: ::turns pale:: Please don't say that!!!! Please!!!

Lina & Zel: Xellos and Filia sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage and then comes-

Xellos & Filia: ::makes more sickening sounds::

Amelia: You two do realize that you're torturing Filia-san also.....Hei, I get the feeling that someone's missing....

Gourry: ::somewhere in the jungle:: Hello!! Lina? Zel? Amelia? .....I'm lost!!


	8. Hellmaster's Puppet

**Hell's Breaking Point**

**Chapter VIII – Hellmaster's Puppet**

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers, damn straight!

Xellos was assigned a peculiar errand by the Lord Of Nightmare. At first, it was just a simple taunting game but as time goes by, the errand became more extreme until............. (Mostly L/G and Z/A) - Takes place after Next and before Try.

Japanese Words:

Oka-sama : Mother aka L.O.N.

Oni-san : Big brother

Yare yare : Oh boy....(something like that)

Mazoku : Evil race/Monster

Minna : Everyone

* * *

The sun shone brightly against the man's eyes as he finally got out of the forest. Shielding his eyes with his arm, the man let out a snort of disgust. 

"Well now isn't being a human just dandy…..I can't even teleport myself to the kingdom of Seyruun…." Hellmaster cursed to himself. It seems being half human had disabled him from using some of his Mazoku's abilities, like teleporting. After Xellos had left to attend to a certain sorceress, Hellmaster had started to find a way out all by himself, ignoring the Mimic who kept staring coldly at him.

Now that he had finally emerged from the forest, helooked athis surroundings and found a road which he knew will lead him towards Seyruun. The only problem is, Seyruun is still not within his eyesight yet and that means more energy-consuming walking.

_This is just great….Why must I end up being so far away from Seyruun anyway…._

Phibrizzo never knew that being part human would be so….bad!

"This painful experience will be over once I return this world back into chaos," he quietly muttered to himself as he glances at his fist, wondering if he still have his Mazoku powers back. Looking back to the road, he started walking along it, ignoring a group of people standing nearby.

"Now what are we going to do with this brat? He's nothing but trouble!" he heard one man spoke.

"All I need now is a solid plan," Hellmaster muttered again, still keeping his sight in front of him.

"Why don't we sacrifice him to the Mimic?" Another one started to speak more loudly.

"But at the moment, time is not on my side," Hellmaster let out a disappointed sigh at his own statement as he kept on walking.

There was no more conversation from the group of people for a while until one of them decided to speak again, "Hei, you! Blondie!" he shouted at Phibrizzo in an angry tone.

"I guess I have to make the best of what I have," the Mazoku mumbled again as he started to walk even faster.

"I said HEI BLONDIE!!" the same man yelled again.

Hellmaster stopped moving and just stood there for a few of second before turning his head towards the group, his eyes covered by his long golden bangs.

A bulky and hairy man smiled evilly when he had achieved in catching Hellmaster's attention. He then moved away from the group to reveal one badly hurt teenage boy behind him. "Yeah you! Don't you want to try and save this kid?" the man grinned as he pushed the kid forward.

Phibrizzo's eyes gazed at the boy's face for a moment before he turned his head and started walking again, ignoring the man's question.

The previous man stared at the golden haired man before veins started popping beneath his skin, "Hei, don't you run away from me, you pathetic **man**!!" he yelled in anger.

That insult made Hellmaster stopped his track immediately. The bulky and hairy man who was obviously the bandit's leader, watched the respond in amusement. But his expression soon turned to shock when his prey suddenly vanished in thin air. But the fact is, he didn't really disappear; it's just the problem of catching up with his fast movements with their eyes.

"W-What!? Where did he- Arghhh!!" he yelled in pain as Hellmaster's fist suddenly connected to his stomach as an uppercut, throwing the man up into the air. But before the man was out of range, Hellmaster swiftly grabbed the man, not by his shirt but by his stomach, making the man screamed in pain.

Hellmaster's eyes showed no emotion as he clenched his hand which was still grabbing a part of the man's body. "Never call me that, you filthy human," he said threateningly once the man was at the same eye level with him.

Phibrizzo tighten his grip even more on the man's stomach until it exploded in his hand, emitting a horrific scream from the bandit leader. Once he knew that the man was dead, Phibrizzo calmly threw the man on the ground as if it was just a rag doll before casting his gaze on the other bandits.

Oh, the look on their faces was delicious. All of them were wearing such frightening expression as they looked at the bloody body of their former leader on the ground. Phibrizzo couldn't help but smile in content.

"How dare you kill boss!!!" one of them started to yell as he draw out his weapon. Phibrizzo's smile turned to frown. He mentally sighed since he knew where this was heading.

The rest of the bandit started following the man's example as they too started to unsheathe their weapons, taking a fighting stance.

Hellmaster looked at the bandits with unfazed eyes before turning his gaze towards the Sword Of Light which was strapped beside him.

_Lets make this quick shall we…._

But his eyes widen when he unsheathed the legendary sword as he saw the long sharp blade still connected to the hilt of the sword. Looking back towards the bandits, Hellmaster slowly put the sword back inside its cast.

"Lets get him!!!" One of them yelled commencing the attack. As they charged towards him, Phibrizzo pointed a fist towards them.

"Since I'm feeling generous today, I'll fight you humans with only one hand,"

* * *

Hellmaster wiped his blood soaked glove using one of the bandits' clean cloths. 

The teenage boy beside him calmly gazed at the dead, blood covered bodies before gazing at the blonde man. As he got up to his feet, Hellmaster had already continued walking.

"Wait!" the boy yelled at him. But when he receives no respond, he quickly ran after him.

Hellmaster mentally groan in frustration as he watched the kid ran past him before kneeling in front of him.

"May I come with you..?"

Once again, Hellmaster mentally groan in frustration. He had thought of ignoring the boy and move on but he knew that the boy would not stop bugging him.

"You'll just be in my way," he calmly answered back, fighting the urge to just destroy the annoying little bugger.

"I'm good at swords and I can use some spell," the boy answered in a rush, probably not wanting to be left alone.

Phibrizzo looked at him, suspicion glinting in his eyes, "…why didn't you kill them?"

The boy looked down on the ground as his long bangs covered his face, "They were my owners….." he quietly said. Hellmaster noted that the boy did not hide his intention to kill his so-called owners.

"Stand up," And the boy did as he was told.

Phibrizzo looked at the boy from head to toe. The boy who seem to be in his teen wore a pair of long black trouser, some heavy looking black boots, and a sleeveless shirt which was also black in color. Analyzing his face, Phibrizzo saw a couple of scars which one in particular was stretched from his forehead, cut through his left eye and ended on his cheek. And like Xellos, he kept his left eye closed at all times while his right golden eye showed no humanity in them. His dark brown hair was messy and uneven and it was at shoulder's length.

(For those who watch Fullmetal Alchemist, just imagine Edward and Wrath combine….)

_Maybe he could be somewhat useful other than being my source of negative emotion…_

"Pick up a weapon," he ordered the boy and had the excruciating sensation seeing the boy smiled gratefully at him.

But to his surprise, the smile soon disintegrates only to replace by the boy's emotionless expression as he walked amongst the dead bodies to retrieve a sword and its holster. The Mazoku watched in amusement as the boy; with a calm face, strapped the blood stained holster around his shoulder before inserting the sword in it.

_It seems that past experience had turned this little human into a mindless puppet…_

"Why don't we have a test?" Phibrizzo suggested with an evil smile, curious of how far will the boy go, "Come,"

_

* * *

Why am I still far away from Seyruun even though I have walked for who knows how long! It's as if a certain force is preventing me from reaching there…._ Hellmaster mentally asked himself impatiently as the two of them reached not Seyruun but a simple town which he would like to call it the slaughtered town, for obvious reason. 

"Okay, I want you to kill everyone in this town," he simply ordered the boy who had kept quiet from the beginning of their journey as he sat comfortably down on a lump of rock, tucking his golden hair neatly behind his ear.

The boy, without any question or objection, nodded in respond before putting both his hands in the air.

"Dill Brand!" the boy yelled as a huge explosion erupts in the town. Hellmaster made a pleasing sound as we watched smoke and rubble flying through the air while he listens intently on the panic screams of the townspeople. Before he could order the boy to finish the town off, the boy had already unsheathed his sword and walked calmly into the town.

A few seconds later, Hellmaster smiled to himself as piercing screams of agonizing pain rang in his ears.

_This boy would kill the lives of innocents but would not even dare to kill his own masters…..He is perfect against Lina Inverse…._ He thought to himself, feeling very pleased with the boy's work as he withdrew himself from the rock, wanting to see the destruction the boy had caused.

When he was inside, the destruction was even worse that he had thought and it brought a tingling sensation in his spine.

"Mmm," Hellmaster smiled to himself as he watched in amazement.

The townspeople's bodies were lying everywhere, a pool of crimson blood covered all of them. Some of them had lost a limb or a leg while the least fortunate had been beheaded. Even the townspeople's children met the same fate, as their cold bodies lay unmoving either on the street or in their house. The coppery smell of blood and the painful screams filled the air, making the scene in front of him more obscene.

Not far away, Phibrizzo could see the boy's work in progress as he sprinted after a scampering frightened young man who unfortunately was running towards the Mazoku. The man stopped when he saw him before latching viciously on Gourry's blue shirt.

"Please, save me!! Please!!" the man pleaded as he trembled in fear. Phibrizzo could only smirk as he absorbed his fear before using Gourry's body to kick him towards the sprinting boy in front of him.

As the man struggles to get back up, he felt a sudden pain as the boy's sword suddenly pierced through his throat. The man made an inhuman noise as blood started gushing out of his throat. Slowly, the boy removed his sword before swinging it swiftly to the side to remove the blood. The man with mouth wide fell slowly to the ground as his own blood washed over him.

Phibrizzo watched the boy for his reaction, "How do you feel?" he asked as his blue eyes glinting evilly.

The boy sheathed his sword back calmly, before facing him. His golden right eye barely visible behind his long dark brown bangs, showed no feeling whatsoever as he answered.

"Nothing,"

**To Be Continue…**

**

* * *

****Ranting :**

**paintedstars : **Wow, it's been a long time since I receive a review from you! Thanks for still reading my story!

**Gerao-A : **Well, if I made Lina bonked Sylphiel's head, I think the argument would never end……So how do you like this extra bloody chapter?

**CT : **Yeah, I always found those cursing words to be amusing rather than insulting! About Seyruun, we'll just have to see…

**BlueJellyFish : **There you go! One evil Gourry! Although I don't think that you would like that…..sorry…

**Slayers no miko : **Don't be mad at Xellykins! He's just a misunderstood Mazoku!

**Shaman Priest : **Hei, Lina could be very unpredictable when she's going to have the time of the month! Hmm, about your musing about Gourry and Xellos, I kinda have to agree with you.…

**Ethereal-tenshi : **As you know me and my likings towards violence, there would be plenty of that in this story! But I have one thing to say, damn you PKN!!!!!

**Kareu Soyokaze : **Yeah, I pity Gourry-chan…..

**Author's Note : **

Sorry that this chapter is kinda short and rushed but I need to at least update one more chapter before I go. Go where you ask? Starting 13th December until 4th March in 2005, I will be away, getting all tanned and sweaty and uncomfortable in the National Service Program……....Three months away from my computer, my PS2 and my Slayers!!!

Xellos: Yumekage-san, don't go! We'll miss you!!!

Lina: Can't you just ditch it?

Unfortunately, no…..

Amelia: Don't worry, Yumekage-san! We'll be right here when you get back!

Gourry: Boy, that program sounds like fun!

For you! But not for me! I'm much more comfortable being surrounded by technology….

Zel: Hei, who knows? Maybe you'll like it there?

Lina & Xellos: Not a chance…

Sigh, well I hope that you guys (the readers) will still be faithful to my story and wait for me until I come back…..

Minna: Unlikely……


	9. Complication

**Hell's Breaking Point**

**Chapter IX – Complication**

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers, nope….

Xellos was assigned a peculiar errand by the Lord Of Nightmare. At first, it was just a simple taunting game but as time goes by, the errand became more extreme until... (Mostly L/G and Z/A) - Takes place after Next and before Try.

Japanese Words:

Oka-sama : Mother aka L.O.N.

Oni-san : Big brother

Yare yare : Oh boy...(something like that)

Mazoku : Evil race/Monster

Juu Ou : Beastmaster

Minna : Everyone

* * *

"Finally!" Lina exclaimed in relief as the kingdom of Seyruun crossed her eyes. She had forgotten how long they had walked and flew to reach here as the only thought in her mind right now was finding her blonde companion. 

"If Gourry-san had already reach Seyruun, where would he be?" Amelia pondered out loud as she puts a finger on her chin.

Lina's eyes widen as an answered quickly popped into her head. Without even telling the others, she had already fled inside the huge city.

"Ah," Amelia gasped. "The restaurants!" the three of them yelled out simultaneously.

"Come on! We've got a lot of restaurants to search!" the chimera huffed as he grabbed Amelia's hand, "Finding Gourry would be much faster if we split up. So Sylphiel, Could you catch after Lina? Amelia and I will search for him elsewhere,"

The Sairaag shrine maiden didn't have the time to answer back as Zelgadis already took off with a bewildered princess.

"…okay,"

* * *

"Zelgadis-san…?" 

"I know what you're trying to ask Amelia. All I can say is that I'm not ready to face the soon-going-to-have-the-time-of-the-month sorceress again…" Zelgadis hesitantly answered, not even looking at the running princess beside him. _Sylphiel seems to be the only person who can cope with Lina's current attitude…_

"Eh? H-how did you?"

"Uhh," A blush crept up his face, "Lets just call it a Gourry-hunch," he hesitantly answered while still running through the streets of Seyruun.

"Look there's our first restaurant. Come on!"

* * *

"Lina-san, please slow down!" 

The sprinting sorceress turned her head towards the sound of the voice and saw Sylphiel trying desperately to catch up with her from behind. Lina felt guilty for leaving her companions behind but finding Gourry was her top priority at the moment. So, there's only one thing to do…

"Sorry Sylphiel! But I can't waste any more time!" the sorceress yelled at the shrine maiden while making an apologize gesture with her hand, "We'll meet up later!" Seconds later, Lina was out of Sylphiel's sight.

Slowly, Sylphiel pace decreases until she pulls into a stop and was leaning against a wall of one of the stone houses beside the street she and Lina was running along, trying to catch her breath. "…meet up?" she panted as she wiped the sweats on her forehead, "..where..?" she weakly asked to no one in particular. Her eyes searched her surrounding and found something that attracted her attention.

"I wonder if I'll find Gourry-sama in that café..?"

* * *

As time past by, Lina had already ransacked almost every restaurant in Seyruun. But by the end of day, Gourry was still no where to be found even though the sorceress had sure that she had checked all the reasonable places that the swordsman would be. 

"Argh!" Lina pounded her fist on a table, "Damn that Xellos!" she cursed out loud as she gritted her teeth. The sorceress had been releasing her stress in one of the restaurant she had 'ransacked' earlier for almost an hour now. Releasing her stress; as in destroying furniture and smashing chairs unto the wall. Thank goodness that no spell had been casted…yet.

The owner of the restaurant who was currently hiding behind the counter was both furious and frightened at her at the same time. Furious because not only that she's inflicting heavy damages towards his restaurant but she had also scared away all of his customers. And frightened because he knew the sorceress' identity. Who can forget Lina Inverse, the sorceress who had destroyed a part of Seyruun thanks to her Dragu Slave in the Kanzel and Mazenda incident and because of that he doesn't have the courage to ask her to shove off.

"Was that stuff about Gourry heading here was just a lie!" Another blow was given to the same table, making a small crack on its surface. Lina paced around in a wild manner before launching a kickto an unsuspected chair, breaking it in process.

"Was it?" she screamed in anger, frightening the owner. Feeling a little bit better, Lina dragged a still unharmed chair and placed it under the fan before placing herself on it with her arms folded against her chest. The cool breeze from the fan made her feel somewhat content but even so, her anger was still boiling as she kept her pissed expression.

"…if that's true then I'll bet that stupid Mazoku is enjoying my tantrum!"

* * *

"Ahcoo!" 

"What's the matter? Is my fur tickling your nostril?" A large wolf asked the man beside her who is currently brushing the wolf's fur with a small brush.

The man turned to face his mistress, "Mazoku don't sneeze…..Hmm, I wonder…" Xellos cupped his chin with his other hand, "By the way Juu Ou-sama, why do I have to do this?" he asked in a normal tone although his face showed his uneasiness.

Zelas smiled at his question, "I only want you to pamper me," she too turned her head so that she could see his face, "since you've been spending a lot of your time with oka-sama lately," she spoke in a teasing manner.

Hands still brushing Zelas' fur, Xellos spoke, "But it wasn't my fault mistress. You were busy back then and I had too much free time in my hand," he moved away the brush from her fur as he runs his free hand through it, "By the way, you have such soft fur, Juu Ou-sama," he praised.

"Thank you but flattery will get you no where other than the previous topic. So," Zelas spoke back as she stretched her legs, "inform me everything that happened," Before Xellos could opened his mouth, Zelas swatted her furry tail at him, "And don't stop grooming me,"

"H-hait," the mysterious priest yelped before continuing grooming his mistress.

The two of them turned silent for a while as Xellos kept brushing Zelas' fur but soon after he started to speak again, "Um. Zelas-sama?"

"Yes?"

"Why don't you turn into your physical form since there is less hair- oof!" he was stop by another swat from Zelas' tail.

* * *

Lina Inverse was still in the wrecked restaurant, trying to figure out the truth when someone barged into the room. 

"Lina!" Zelgadis ran through the entrance, "Did you find Go- " he abruptly stopped his statement and his movement altogether when he saw the interior of the room, "-urry…." He trailed off as his eyes stare in dumbstruck at the broken pieces of plates and furniture with his mouth agape.

The sorceress never moved from her chair as she glared at the chimera, "What do you think?" she asked sarcastically. Zelgadis didn't respond as he continued to stare by the entrance.

Then Lina heard Amelia's voice, "Sylphiel-san hurry! Zelgadis-san said that a man saw Lina-san went into this restaurant!"

Then there's Sylphiel's voice, "I know and I think Zelgadis-san had already went inside the building!" And a couple of seconds later, the two shrine maiden had rushed into the restaurant and just like the chimera, both of them froze when they saw the inside of the restaurant while wearing the same expression as Zelgadis.

"W-what happened here?" Amelia asked in a stuttered voice. And just like earlier, the sorceress replied, "What do you think?" Arms still crossed against her chest.

"Lina," the furious dra-mata turned to glare at the talking chimera, "I know that you're pissed but- " he stopped for a while as he once again examined the condition of the room, "don't act so recklessly…." he spoke in an unsure tone.

Lina's eyes twitched at his words before turning her head away from him, releasing a frustrating 'hmph'.

Suddenly, the floor near the entrance made a creaking sound, indicating that someone had entered the restaurant. The sorceress made a grumbling noise as she was not in the mood to 'greet' anyone anymore, much less someone other than her companions. So she turned her head back towards the entrance to scare the person off.

"Hei! Would you mind buzz- " Now it was her turn to stop her sentence and it was her turn to wear a dumbstruck expression while her brain tried to distinguish if this moment is real or not.

"Woah! This place looks like a tornado had hit it," the person spoke in awe, ignoring the fact that everyone in the room was currently staring at him (especially Lina). "I always knew that it was easy to find you Lina," he gave them a weak laugh. "But still, you ought to behave yourself…" he continued while eyeing the room with a pale face.

"Gourry-sama!" Sylphiel was the first to greet the blonde swordsman, followed by Amelia and Zelgadis.

Lina was the only one who hasn't move an inch. Her eyes gazed the man in front her intently from top to bottom and finally her brain was able to accept the reality. The sound of a falling chair on the floor caught the others' attention and saw the sorceress standing besideher fallen chair.

"..Gourry..?" Lina took a step forward and another step and soon she was sprinting towards her protector. "Gourry!" she yelled in delight, her anger from before quickly melted only to be replaced by relief and most importantly, happiness.

'…_Lina..?'_

Gourry's eyes widen at the sudden voice and his shocked was doubled at the sight of the sprinting Lina. Zelgadis and the others who were oblivious by the swordsman's weird behavior wore a smile on their faces, happy to see the sorceress reunited with her protector but the smile slowly vanish when they saw her hand bunching into a fist. _Oh man, she's not going to clobber him, is she? _

**POW!**

The others automatically cringed at the sound of Lina's fist connecting to Gourry's body and were expecting Gourry to take the hit without any counterattack what so ever like he used to but they were shocked out of their wits when 'Gourry' suddenly shoved the sorceress away, hard.

"The **hell** are you doing?" 'Gourry' yelled loudly as he balled up his fist while his other hand touched the aching spot on his body. Lina took a couple clumsy steps backwards but finally managed to find her balance and just stood there while she stare at him, shock and hurt shone clearly in her eyes.

"…Gourry..?" her voice was weak.

'_Lina? It is you!'_

Phibrizzo ignored the voice as he was in deep trouble at the moment. All eyes were on him, staring him with confusion and most of all, in shock. It was time for him to make a very wise move.

He lowered his head so that his blonde bangs covered his face while faking an ashamed look, "Lina," his voice was soft, "I'm sorry…" he paused, finding the right words to say, "It's just that…past experience came back to haunt me on my way here.." he slowly stated. The others remain quiet.

'_What the! O-oi! I didn't said that?'_

Phibrizzo continued to ignore Gourry. He lifted his head, crossing eyes with Lina's while trying hard to fake an intense yet emotional gaze, "I'm sorry,"

He mentally smirks when the confusion that clouded the sorceress' eyes disappeared. Butstill he could feel herhurt and sadness and he chose to ignore it. Phibrizzo mentally sigh as he still has one more problem to deal with. Still keeping his current expression, he spoke, "Sorry, but could I go freshen up in the men's room?" he kept his gaze on her for a couple of seconds before walking towards the toilet when no one answer.

"_H-hei! Where am I going? Lina!'_

* * *

"You okay Lina?" Zelgadis finally asked in concern after Gourry's figure had entered the toilet. Amelia and Sylphiel set their attention to her, waiting for her answer. 

"Um," she quietly replied without facing them. Even though she wasn't hurt when Gourry had shoved her but for some reason her body was aching, especially her heart and the pain hadn't lessen although Gourry had explain his weird behavior. Gourry never fought back when she bashed him before, so why did he start now? What was that past experience he was talking about?

Xellos : Sore wa himitsu desu ;)

* * *

"Cht, of all the time, he just had to appear now," Phibrizzo muttered angrily to himself as he stare at his reflection on the men's room's mirror. He had made sure to lock the toilet's door so that the Slayers won't be able to spy on him. 

'_Umm, why am I talking of all the sudden? What's going on?'_

Hellmaster let out a frustrated groan. He has no choice but to explain everything, well not everything, to the clueless swordsman if he still wants to be sane.

"Okay, listen up Gourry Gabriev," he spoke quietly still staring at himself on the mirror, "You're no longer in control of your body. Remember Hellmaster Phibrizzo? The adorable little boy who tried to destroy the world with Lina Inverse's Giga Slave? Well, I'm in control of your body now," he explained quickly, not giving any chance for Gourry to interrupt.

'_Hellmaster? When did you- how?'_

"That doesn't matter right now!" Hellmaster snapped but soon adjusted his volume to minimum again. _'Oh great! I'm absorbing my own negative emotion. This can't be good for my diet…..' _"What's important now is that I'm going to let you control your body for a while," he finally concluded. It was the right choice for the moment since he almost blew his cover back then. That punch Lina just gave him was the first time he had actually felt human's physical pain, so he had shoved her off out of surprise and pain. If she, no, if anyone tries that again on him, who knows what he'll do out of defense. _'This is bad! Now my enemies could inflict both physical and astral damage on me!'_ Hellmaster thought in distress.

'_Why? Aren't you going to continue pretending to be me and wait for the right moment to strike? Aren't you afraid that I might tell the others?'_

Hellmaster was shaken out of his thought, "You're right," he spoke, impressed by the swordsman's sudden sharpness. "But I'm not worry since you _won't_ tell them," he simply said with an evil grin, confusing Gourry. Then he moved to the back wall, gently tap it with his knuckle before taking a few steps away from it.

A blade suddenly thrust through the wall before slicing it in a round movement (just like Gourry when Lina, Gourry and Amelia tried to break into Eris' place) The circle block slowly fell forward but before it could hit the floor, Hellmaster quickly caught it and gently placed it against the wall.

"Well then oni-san. Meet my new servant," Hellmaster spoke as he watched the figure behind the wall. The boy from before walked through the hole and stood in front of the swordsman. Gourry could only watch through Phibrizzo's eyes. He was surprised when the blade on the boy's hand was lifted and placed against his neck.

"Do you understand? One wrong move from you Gourry Gabriev and the boy dies. Now would you be responsible for this innocent boy's death?" Hellmaster suddenly asked, the evil grin on his face spread wider.

'_Keh! That's inhuman! You controlled him like you did me before!'_

"Controlling him?" Hellmaster made a mock surprise look, "Am I controlling you boy?" he asked in a normal tone.

The boy set his golden eyes on Phibrizzo's and Gourry mentally winced when he saw the boy's scarred left eye, "No," he quietly replied with an unreadable expression. The blade still rest beside the boy's neck.

Hellmaster made a pleasing sound, "Do you understand now?"

"………"

* * *

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting!" 

Lina and the others turned towards the men's room and saw Gourry walking up to them with one hand rubbing sheepishly at the back of his head. At first no one dared to say anything to the swordsman but Lina decided to say something, anything to her protector.

"How are you feeling Gourry?" she hesitantly asked him with an unsure expression. But a smile quickly made its way to her lips when she saw him gave her his usual smile, the smile that she had always adore as he gaze her with his now clear blue eyes.

"…hungry," he replied back, letting out a small laugh.

Lina couldn't help but to return his laughter, "Well then! Lets find someplace to eat!" she cheerfully spoke and in reflex, the others started to analyze the wrecked room again.

Ignoring them, Lina quickly grabbed Gourry's hand and walked together out of the restaurant. Just outside, the sorceress peeked inside and muttered a quiet apology to the owner before disappearing off with her protector. Sylphiel just smiled while Zelgadis just shook his head at her antics although he too felt much happier and relief that Lina wasback to normalagain. Amelia was standing beside the owner, having a conversation with himthat hassomething to do with 'daddy paying for the damages' or something similar to it...

* * *

"So," Lina secretly eyed the man walking beside her, selecting the best words to ask him, "What happened to you on your way here?" Lina asked as the two of them continue walking along the street, hoping to find a nice restaurant to dig in. 

"Eh?" Gourry looked at her cluelessly but for some reason Lina just couldn't get angry at him like she used to since she found that she was actually glad to see him act like that again. Well, maybe until tomorrow….But for now, she just wants to be with her clueless and laidback protector.

"Oh. Well," Gourry stopped himself as he cupped his chin.

"Well?" Lina asked again, still smiling at him.

Gourry lifted his head and saw a figure looking at him with golden eyes on the rooftop, holding a sword in his hand. The swordsman then slowly turned back to look at Lina.

"Nope. Nothing important for you to worry about," he finally replied with a smile.

'_Good boy,'_

**To Be Continue…**

**

* * *

****Ranting :**

**Shaman Priest : **Hehe, I always like dark fics! But if gets too much I could always tone them down!

**Gerao-A : **Ehehe, the truth is my OC is based on Seta Soujiro since I **adore** him but I'm making my version of Soujiro more ruthless. So, you watch Samurai X too, eh? Cool!

**Slayers No Miko : **….ummmm, I'm back?

**BlueJellyFish : **I apologize that the last chapter was Lina-and-the-gang-free. It was a last minute thing before I go so that is why it was short and kinda rush…So here's the newest chapter to atone for my sin ;)

**Ethereal-tenshi : **Haiya, budak ni! Woi, kalau ko tengah baca ni, aku nak tanya kalau ko free Chinese New Year ni tak? Aku ngan Emi nak plan utk ke KLCC. Kalau free jom lah! Balaslah dgn mengreview chapter ni! Hihihi!

Lina: I don't understand what you just wrote….

Good for you then!

**Kaeru Soyokaze : **All I can say is thanks for your patient!

**

* * *

****Author's Note :**

What's up, peeps! I'm back for my Chinese New Year holiday. Since I have only five days to spend at home before going back to 'that' place, the least I could do is update one chapter, ne?

Lina: Welcome back and then bon voyage again, ne?

Amelia: So how's the Natio-

Shhhhhhhh! Never, never, never, never, never speak of that dreaded name! For it will kill us all!

Zel: Okay….What were you smoking there?

Haha…very funny… Ugh, my muscles are aching all over. Where's Gourry? Gourry!

Gourry: Yeeeees?

Could you be a sweet little kurage and massage my back, Gourreeeeeen?

Lina: _twitches eyes_ ………

What's with that look Lina? You got him all for yourself for one month now it's my turn to be pampered by my Goureen.

Lina: _face turning red_ I was not pampered by Gourry!

Xellos: That's right! Every night she and Gourry-san kept wresting violently in their bed while making this strange noises. I'm surprised that the bed hasn't collapsed yet! _nods head_

Lina: _blushing furiously_ XELLOS! The hell are you talking about!

Xellos: _smiles_ About your wet fantasies! _deliberately runs away while Lina tries to strangle him_

Amelia: _blushing _Why do we keep straying to 'that' topic….?

Zel: Sigh...I don't know. Why don't you ask the author of this story?

…..I don't hear anything….I don't know anything….Ah, that's nice Gourry. Lower please….ahh…

Minna: ………..sigh..


	10. Still More Complication

**Hell's Breaking Point**

**Chapter X – Still More Complication**

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers, bla…bla…bla..

Xellos was assigned a peculiar errand by the Lord Of Nightmare. At first, it was just a simple taunting game but as time goes by, the errand became more extreme until... (Mostly L/G and Z/A) - Takes place after Next and before Try.

Japanese Words:

Oka-sama : Mother aka L.O.N.

Oni-san : Big brother

Yare yare : Oh boy...(something like that)

Mazoku : Evil race/Monster

Juu Ou : Beastmaster

Minna : Everyone

'…….' Is for Phibby's thoughts

(…...) Is for Gourry's thoughts

* * *

The moon shone brightly in the midst of dark sky indicating that it was already night. 

Lina : No duh!

In their search for an unwrecked restaurant, Lina finally found the idea to fill their bellies for free while getting free rooms for the night at none other than the Seyruun's palace since Amelia had already invited Gourry to stay the night there before all those Xellos related incidents came. But before the sun sets, Sylphiel had decided to say her farewell.

"It's going to be dark soon and I already promised my uncle that I would be back before dark……but if you ever need the assistant of my white magic, I'll be there!"

"Especially if it has something to do with Gourry-sama!" Those were her last words before she left the group, reluctantly that is…

So now it's just the four of them now, well five if you count Phibrizzo. Speaking of the Hellmaster, he never did took control of Gourry's body and as for the swordsman, he still tries to act normal while keeping the revival of Hellmaster a secret since the golden eye boy kept popping out of nowhere but still out of the others' sight to remind Gourry about their 'little agreement'.

The moonlight spilled into the window and on to Gourry's face as he gazes at the night sky. Countless thoughts swirled in his mind as he tried to a find a solution for his newest problem.

'Give it up,'

Gourry's eyes narrowed at the Mazoku's voice but he didn't say anything. He knew that since Phibrizzo possesses his body, the Hellmaster could easily read his mind. Wonder if _he _could read the Mazoku's mind? Anyway, what should he do know? What should he do to stop Phibrizzo from getting Lina?

"…..Lina," he murmured softly to himself. That's right. He had been shocked to find the sorceress in that restaurant that evening. But how can that be? What about that bloody Lina he saw back in the huge forest, who had let out her final breath in his arms. Gourry's eyes glistened as he recalls that horrible memory when he had lost his sorceress…

'That wasn't her, you foolish human but a mere shape shifting creature. What you saw and heard from that 'Lina' was nothing more than a fake act to invoke negative emotion from you which is the only way to recharge my power since I could not absorb others' without being dominant over your body but I could only absorb the ones coming out of your body,'

Gourry's eyes widen at his explanation, "..what? So, that wasn't Lina…?" he stutteredly asked.

'Of course not. She is still of some use to me,'

At first, the swordsman let out a sigh of relief feeling absolutely glad that it was all a fake but then anger filled him. How dare the creature tried to fake Lina's death? That was unforgivable! He thought in fury as he gripped his fists.

'So, do you want revenge? The creature is just in the vast forest northwest from here,'

Gourry turned silent at Phibrizzo's suggestion. The truth he wanted to destroy the creature but now is not the right time for revenge. As he Hellmaster, he was currently feeling delighted at the anger the swordsman is producing. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door of his room, startling the two of them. Oh man, he was not ready for company.

"Gourry..?" The swordsman gulped, knowing clearly who the voice was.

He knew that she won't leave him alone even if he ignored her. So, hesitantly, he unlocked the door and slowly opened it, revealing a strain-smiled sorceress.

"Lina..,"

"Gourry, could I talk to you for a second?" Both of them locked eyes for a moment before Gourry took a step aside, gesturing for her to enter. The sorceress took a hesitant step forward before walking to the center of the room in her normal pace, while the swordsman gently closed the door and steadily walks to his bed. All this time, he could hear his heart thumping uncontrollably in his chest. Oh god, was the room thicked with tension.

'Oh, this is nice. The sound of silence,'

Gourry ignored Hellmaster's little sarcasm and focused on the sorceress in front of him.

"Uh," he started to speak, "What is it that you want to talk about?" He mentally made a thumb up to himself at his attempt to slice the molded tension.

'Yeah, great job. Not!'

Gourry's eyes accidentally twitched at that small insult and unfortunately for him, Lina took it as his annoyance towards her and Gourry saw this as her expression quickly changed.

"I guess I know when I'm not wanted," she stated quietly although her anger was evident as she turned to face the exit but Gourry was quicker when e swiftly yet gently grabbed one of her arm.

"No, Lina. I'm sorry, It's just that….maybe I'm still a little tired from that long journey here," It was a pathetic excuse and a lie. He never wanted to hide the truth away from the person he trusted the most but he had no choice. He was now no better than a puppet, a useless puppet controlled by Hellmaster Phibrizzo…

Lina turned to face him and as they locked eyes with each other, Gourry noticed that there was still suspicious lurking in her eyes but somehow she went along with his excuse, for now at least….

"So," Gourry cleared his throat as he released her arm, "What's wrong?"

It seems that little question had taken her by surprise.

"What's wrong? That's what I should be asking you!" she shot back, "And don't tell me that nothing's wrong! We, no, _I_ noticed that you have been acting very weird since we found you!"

Gourry mentally cursed at the guilty Hellmaster.

'Hei! It's not entirely my fault!'

The swordsman mentally rolled his eyes as he recalled the incidents that as Lina had told him; acting very weird…

...Flashback...

"Well everyone, I hope you'll enjoy the cuisine made from the excellent chefs from the palace," Amelia spoke with a wide smile. Actually, she couldn't wait to start her feast. It's been a long time since she feasted the delicious food from home.

"We'll definitely will!" both Lina and Gourry replied in enthusiastically, already holding their spoons and forks.

Zelgadis just smiled at their usual enthusiast for food. The four of them was sitting side by side as they watched piles and piles of food being served on the large dinner table by the palace's servants. Amelia had ordered that they would have a 'little bit' of privacy for their dinner. That means no King of Seyruun, no Uncle Christopher, no servants (except the ones that are serving the food) and most of all no need for manner. All of this for Lina and Gourry's sake..…But that doesn't stop Prince Phil from crashing their dinner.

"Well then," Phil, who was sitting across them spoke as he raised his glass. The Slayers followed his motion.

"Kampai and itadakimasu!"

It seems that the four of them had been more starving than they thought as they ate barbarously, ignoring the fact that they were currently eating inside the palace with the prince of Seyruun…As usual, Lina and Gourry were fork-wrestling, Zel was slicing and gobbling his food using his chimera speed (it's a miracle he didn't choke..) while Amelia was piling up varieties of delicious morsels onto her plate before trying to devour it before the other could notice.

Phil was the only one who still hasn't touched his food as he stare in awe at his company's wild table manners but mostly because his daughter was currently stuffing her face with food; an act he never sees before when she was in the palace without Lina and the others, no matter how hungry she was. A fond smile appeared on his face as he realize how happy his daughter is being with the group and he couldn't help but wonder where his other daughter might be…

A/N: Okay, okay! I know that that had nothing to do with Hellmaster! I'm getting to that part right now!

'Ooh, hei! That's not a bad soup,'

Gourry froze and Lina noticed.

"What's wrong Gourry? The soup's not that bad other than its damn spicy," she wondered out loud as she took another sip of the spicy food with her spoon.

Gourry regained his composure, "Ah? Oh, I, uh just candle that much spicy…." He explained as he pushed the bowl aside to make way for another dish.

'Hei, hei, hei! Bring that bowl back!'

(What for? I don't think Mazoku need to eat?) Gourry countered back.

'If you didn't know, your human body is now a part of me. And so is your tongue. To put it simply I too have to take care of _my_ human body by eating something and now with your human tongue, I finally noticed that I rather enjoy eating spicy food. So, eat that damn soup!'

(Hei, didn't you hear me! I said that I can't handle spicy food!)

'Well that's too bad for you! Eat it! Or else!'

Gourry nearly growled at the persistent Mazoku and his threat. But knowing the Hellmaster's capability, he had no other choice. In the end, he reluctantly dragged back the bowl to it's former place.

Lina arched an eyebrow.

"I thought you said you can't handle the soup?" she asked, confused.

(Hoo boy…why me..?)

"Um, I guess the taste got to me," he randomly spoke as he let out a strain laugh.

Lina stare at him in disbelief before popping a piece of meat into her mouth, still never moving her eyes from him.

You know that it'll be your fault if your secret's got out

'…….just eat it!'

Still under the Lina's watchful eyes, Gourry slowly dipped his spoon into the bowl, trying his best to look normal before bringing the soup-filled spoon close to his lips.

Here goes nothing… And he inserted the spoon into his mouth, swallowing the soup in process.

'Delicious! More please!'

The first gulp wasn't so bad but after the fifth scoop, Gourry's face had turned red and was panting heavily

"Um, you do know that you can stop eating if it's too hot for you," Lina suddenly spoke in confusion and a bit of concern.

Gourry just waved her off as he tried to swallow the sixth scoop of soup in his mouth. Bus suddenly, in his attempt to force the soup down his throat, he accidentally bit a chunk of hot pepper and this is where it all started.

"AHHH!" Both Gourry and Phibrizzo yelled as the unbearable burning sensation on their tongue, sends out a jolt to their body, shocking his fellow companions.

"Hot, hot, hot!" the swordsman yelped as he tried to cool down his tongue by waving his hand vigorously in futile.

"I told you to stop eating that soup!" exclaimed Lina in a hard tone, "Drink something quick!"

'Well you heard her! Drink something for Ruby Eye-sama's sake! Drink it now!'

"Could you please stop yelling? I'm looking for it now!" Gourry suddenly yelled out loud as he frantically searched for something to cool off his tongue. The others froze.

"WHAT?" Lina snapped, thinking that he was yelling at her but Gourry was still busy scanning the table for any cold drink other than wine while spewing sentences after sentences out of his mouth (basically he was talking to Phibby) which freaked the rest of them while Hellmaster was getting impatient with the unfamiliar yet scorching pain on _his_ tongue.

'You imbecile! If there's no water here then go search in the damn kitchen! NOW!'

"Alright! Alright!" Gourry yelled in frustration as he started to sprint out of the dining room, "But if I get lost in the way, it'll be your fault!" he managed too add before his figure disappeared from the others' sight.

The rest of them remain silent as they tried to figure out what had just happened. Phil was the first to break the silence.

"Was Gourry-dono talking to himself..?"

No one dare to answer.

…...Then there was the stomachache incident…...

"Oh man. My stomach hurts…." Gourry moaned as he wobbled his way along the corridor. His stomach has been churned and growling ever since he drank the overly spicy soup.

'Ugh, you mean _our_ stomach! I can't believe this..no matter who was controlling the body, our actions affects us both!'

"Heh, at least knowing that I'm not the only one suffering makes me….oh god…" Gourry never managed to finish his sentence as his stomach made a freaky growl followed by an immense stomachache. After the pepper incident, he had forgotten to communicate with Phibrizzo mentally.

'Uhh, just..shut up..and do whatever you humans do to relieve …this damn pain!'

Gourry's face turned even more pale, "Oh..I know what to do to make the pain go away…..but it ain't gonna be pretty. For you or for me…" he let out a groan, "First we gotta find a bathroom,"

"Um, excuse me?" Gourry turned to look whoever it is behind him, "Who were you talking to?" One of the servants asked.

(Oh crap!)

"I, uh, I didn't said anything!" Gourry stutteredly answered back in panic as he waved his hands in defense.

The servant just smile in return, "Hehe, don't worry. I won't tell Princess Amelia that her companion was talking to himself like an idiot," he simply said. Maybe _he's_ the one who is an idiot….

(Oi, oi, oi!)

'Forget him! I'm still in pain you know!'

Gourry scratched his head violently. There were too many things to do in such a short time….His stomach made another monstrous growl which quickly made his decision easier. Ignoring the annoying, still-smiling servant, the swordsman continues to wobble his way towards the nearest toilet, praying that the servant would keep his mouth shut.

Unfortunately for the two of them, the palace's servant in the end had report everything that he had heard to the princess and she in turn had told the sorceress and the chimera.

...End Flashback...

(Stupid servant!)

'I agree,'

"Gourry!"

Gourry snapped back from his daze.

"Eh?"

Lina sputtered in response, "What do you mean 'eh'?" she yelled in an angry tone.

'Sigh…she's asking if you're 'alright' oni-san. And you what? I'm the one who is not alright. Having a human body has more cons than pros which is not surprising,'

Gourry completely ignored Hellmaster as his full attention was now at the petite sorceress in front of him.

"Lina…I..," he didn't know what to answer. Telling her a lie was out of the question since the sorceress knows him well, too well….and telling her the truth means that he'll be taking an innocent life.

But he was surprised when Lina suddenly grab his hand and softly placed one hand on top of it and the other beneath it. Gourry stared at their hands before moving his eyes towards her face. He unconsciously gulped when he saw her face. Lina's expression was holding countless feeling but her pure concern was the most evident.

"Gourry," she slowly spoke in a soft tone, still gazing at his crystal blue eyes, "we've been traveling together for a long time now and we have become very close, become…." she stopped for a moment, "…bestfriend," Gourry noticed the sudden unsure in her voice when she had said that word but soon he dismiss it as disappointment washed over him.

"…bestfriend," he echoed her in a weak tone, "..yeah,"

Lina's eyes widen at the tone he had used and hope glimmered in her eyes but as soon as it came, the glint quickly vanishes. A small smile made it's way to her lips, "So, you can tell me anything that bothers you. I…may not seem like it, but…I'm always there for you Gourry like how you're always there for me," she managed to wink at him, to cover up her stuttered words.

Gourry countered her smile with a loving smile of his own. Her words meant a great deal to him and it made him want to tell her everything but…

'Lets see how you get out of this one,'

Gourry kept his smile as he spoke, "I know Lina. But, this problem that I'm having right now, I just can't tell you yet,"

"But you were talking to yourself!"

Gourry stopped her from continuing by placing a finger on her lips. Blush crept to the sorceress' cheek.

"Just trust me on this Lina. When the time is right, you'll be the first one to know. Okay?" Gourry softly spoke as withdrew his finger.

"But-"

"Lina, do you trust me?"

Lina's eyes wavered from his at his question but she somehow force herself to look at him straight in the eyes, "Of course I trust you Gourry," she finally replied. Gourry slowly removed his hand from her grasp and gently placed both hands on her shoulder.

"Actually, there's something I want to ask you, Lina," he spoke in a serious tone.

"O-okay," Lina stammered, wondering what kind of serious question Gourry was going to ask her and then her mind processed something. Her face turned several shades of red while her heart started to thump loudly. '_Could he be asking about….._'

"If you have to choose between the world and….some…thing precious to you, which would you choose?"

Lina mentally fell backwards. When she finally regained back her composure, she let out a sigh, '_I should have known better…_' she thought to herself as she push away her own disappointment but there was also a feeling of confusion. '_Why did he ask me this all of a sudden….? Oh well, better answer him,_'

"..well, that's easy! I'll take precious something of mine thank you very much!" she answered in a proud tone, hoping to lighten the mood but looking at Gourry's unfazed expression, she knew that he wanted the correct answer from her.

"..but, that would be wrong. The correct choice would be choosing the world," she slowly answered. Her face softens and so does Gourry's.

One hand made it's way on to of her head and Gourry affectionly ruffled her hair and because she was so use to it, it didn't bother her anymore.

"That's right but personally it doesn't matter to me which choice you take because if you ever gotten yourself in that situation, I know that you'll come through for yourself, for the rest of us and for the world. I believe in you Lina. Always have and always will," he spoke gently as a loving smile grazes his lips.

Lina's blush came back full force so she tried to hide it from him by bowing her head as she bashfully replies.

"…thanks, Gourry"

The both of them stayed like that for a while just enjoying each others' presence. It's been a while since they were alone, just the two of them, without any interruption from Zelgadis, Amelia and of course the fruitcake priest.

'_C'mon Lina! This is the right time to spill my guts out. It's just the two of us, alone in his room, beside his…bed…_' Lina abruptly stopped herself as her face now completely turned crimson. '_Woah there….I've gotten WAY over myself!_'

With one big gulp, Lina steeled herself as she tried to express her true feeling for her protector. She bit her lip, "Um, Gourry….I-"

"Gourry-san!"

Lina literally fell backwards this time. Of all the time in the world, Amelia had to appear now. Gourry who was clueless about why Lina had 'fell', walked towards the door and opened it, revealing a worried Amelia.

"Gourry-san! Have you see-ah! There you are Lina-san!" she spoke in relief but then her eyes widen when a thought hit her, "Ahh! Was I disturbing you two?" she suddenly blurted out in distress, afraid that she had just ruin a L/G moment after seeing the sorceress' current face.

Lina's annoyed expression quickly turned into panic, "N-No! W-we were just-" she babbled in a stuttered voice before forcing herself to calm down and relax. She took a huge breath before continuing, "Why were you looking for me?"

"Ah! Zelgadis-san wants to see you in his room," Amelia replied, still wearing her I'm-sorry-that-I-interrupt-your-moment-with-Gourry-san's face.

The sorceress demeanor quickly turned serious as she nod at the princess, "Got it. Amelia, you go on ahead,"

Lina watched the princess scurried along the chimera's room, which was quiet far from Gourry's since each guestrooms in the palace were very large. After the princess' figure had disappeared, Lina walked through Gourry's door and stopped just outside of his room. Without turning to face him, she spoke, "Get some rest Gourry and remember what I've just said," Only then she turned her head so she could see him, "Goodnight, Gourry," she softly said, her lips curved into a rare smile. Before Gourry could respond, she had already closed the door and her shadow beneath the door reluctantly disappear.

"Goodnight Lina," was all the swordsman could say, even though he knew that the words wouldn't reach her. He let out a big sigh.

'Oh, splendid. Glad that's over,'

For a moment, Gourry had forgotten who the voice was but soon it's all coming back to him. "You've been quiet," Gourry spoke, wondering about the sudden absence of Hellmaster during his and Lina's conversation.

'I was using all my will power not to throw up…Seriously, couldn't the love you two emitting get any stronger?'

…..love….?

"W-what are you talking about?" He knew that he has feelings for the sorceress but Lina has…?

'What? Wasn't it clearly and disgustingly obvious? You two love each other _so damn_ much that it sickens me…..'

"Lina….has feelings for me…?"

Lina Inverse, the dramata, the short tempered sorceress who kept 'injuring' him and calling him kurage and yogurt of brain, harbors feelings for him? There is only one word for it…..wow!

'Sigh…you humans are so slow. Tell you what? Just think of this new discovery as a token of my gratitude for sharing this body with me,'

The swordsman's fantasies about Lina quickly disappear. Thoughts about his and Lina's future has to be put on hold since now, in his current condition, was NOT a good time for that.

'Well now that that's over. Shall we begin?'

"…?"

**To Be Continue…**

**

* * *

****Author's Note :**

Woah, this must be my longest chapter yet…..Well, just think of it as a repayment for my long absent…Heheheh..

Xellos: Gourry-san and Phibby-san get along so well (smiles)

Zel: …I guess _you_ don't know the meaning of 'getting along well'…By the way, where's Lina?

Amelia: ….Um, I think she's hiding from all the embarrassment in this chapter.

Zel: But, her fancy Gourry is so obvious! There's no need to hide it from us anymore.

Lina: (somewhere backstage) I DON'T FANCY GOURRY!

Zel & Amelia: …right…

Gourry: But I fancy Lina! …I think…What's 'fancy'?

Lina: (still somewhere backstage) …Gourry….

Xellos: Oh god! Not this! Not now! Gotta stop this! (runs to Zel) Zel-kun! I wuv you! Smoooooch!

Zel: Gasp! Get away from me! (starts throwing multiple spells) DIE!

Xellos: Ha! That's better!

Amelia: I don't know if I should get angry or be disgusted….

Wow…you guys…you're….just….oh! damn it! I WUV YOU GUYS TOOO!

Minna: Ack! RUNN!


	11. Face To Face

**Hell's Breaking Point**

**Chapter XI – Face To Face**

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers, …..that's it I guess…

Xellos was assigned a peculiar errand by the Lord Of Nightmare. At first, it was just a simple taunting game but as time goes by, the errand became more extreme until... (Mostly L/G and Z/A) - Takes place after Next and before Try.

Japanese Words:

Oka-sama : Mother aka L.O.N.

Oni-san : Big brother

Yare yare : Oh boy...(something like that)

Mazoku : Evil race/Monster

Juu Ou : Beastmaster

Minna : Everyone

* * *

"Hmph! To think that Ruby Eye-sama's most powerful subordinate could ever be so low as to become part human!" Beastmaster mused to herself as she and her priest stood before the Golden Lord. 

"But.." she crossed eyes with L-sama, "why did you order Xellos to awaken him inside the human's body?" she asked, curious of their mother's plan.

"Simply put, entertainment," the Lost of Nightmare simply said with a smile, "But, he was the only one between the five subordinates that nearly and possibly could achieve the destruction of this world and so I have given him another chance to achieve that goal again," Zelas let out a strain laugh while Xellos tried to find an excuse to defend his mistress.

Then L-sama's smile disappeared, "But," Both Zelas and Xellos perked their eyes at the word, "I still haven't forgotten that he had attacked me back in Sairaag and for that, I had let him survive by possessing the human so that misery and humiliation would strike upon him,"

The two unconsciously gulped at their revengeful mother but the priest's pale face recovered, "Oka-sama, if I know Hellmaster, he would certainly try to use his old tactic which is forcing Lina-san to cast the Giga Slave…but," he stopped.

The Golden Lord sighed, "I know. She's going to have her time of the month," Xellos nodded, "But how did you know about that?" she had asked.

A grin crept up to his face, "Simple. Since I've always traveled with her, I had come to accustom with her time of the month's schedule and her spells' power, and the spells she had used when fighting the two Mazoku was not as destructive as before," L-sama watched him in amusement, "Therefore, I knew that she was going to have her time of the month," he ended.

"Very good," L-sama praised the mysterious priest while Zelas just stood, lost in their conversation about the woman's suckiest days.

"Well until her powers return, Phibrizzo will have plenty of time to adjust and discover his new specialty and weaknesses," her lips curved into a feral grin, "since that will be his last physical body until he is destroyed,"

* * *

The door to Zelgadis' room creaked as the sorceress pushed it open. 

"You're late," the chimera spoke as Lina stepped inside the room before closing the door behind her.

"Uh, our conversation went out of hand," and she left her sentences hanging, not wanting the others to know about her and Gourry's little talk. She let out a weak laugh. Zelgadis turned to look at Amelia who in return just shrugs her shoulder in reply.

"Well," he started as he cleared his throat, "what did you figure out?"

"To be honest, nothing," Lina stopped with a sigh, "But I did found out that Gourry knew he was talking to himself so any excuse about him being dead tired was out of the question,"

The chimera cupped his chin as he ponders on her statement, "So any thoughts?"

The sorceress folded her arms against her chest, tilted her head a bit and closed her eyes, "Ah, okay here goes. But first, we all know Gourry, right?"

Zelgadis and Amelia looked at each other, confused, "…right,"

"And we all know that Gourry is not dumb enough to be talking to himself, right?"

"Of course," the two of them answered without hesitation.

"So," Lina opened her eyes and looked at her two companions, her eyes serious, "I think that he was actually talking to someone but we can't see or hear that 'someone'," she concluded although her voice showed that she wasn't entirely sure with her own statements.

"Except for Gourry…." Zelgadis trailed off, "So you're saying that he was talking to some invincible entity like a ghost?"

"Eh?" Amelia squeaked as she panicked. She was never fond of creepy, scary stuff….

Lina too cringed a bit at the chimera's suggestion as the thought of an invincible being was amongst them, was not a very pleasant thought, "P-perhaps….," she replied in a stuttered voice as she secretly scanned the room in discomfort, "B-but don't worry! Gourry said to trust him on this and I know that he would never do something that will jeopardize us…..Although I'm a bit worry, I trust Gourry," she finally ended as a determined smile crossed her lips.

"Us too!" Zelgadis and Amelia too shared the same smile.

"Well then, I, Lina Inverse concluded that tonight's meeting is officially on hold until further evidences are found. We shall end this meeting by going back to our respective quarters for some goodnight sleep. Agree?"

"Aye,"

* * *

It was already past midnight. The sorceress was snoring softly on top her comfy bed, dreaming about sweet meals and jellyfishes when a loud explosion shook her room, shaking her from her sweet slumber. 

"Whatthesunnova?" she jolted from her bed before rushing towards the nearest window to find the cause of the sudden chaos.

"What the?" she gasped when she saw the view outside. Not far from the Seyruun's palace, she could see smoke rising from the buildings which was somehow destroyed. The sky was now blazing red as fire started to lick that part of the city clean and the air was hazy with black smoke and flying debris. Suddenly, a humongous white beam skidded across the city, followed by more explosions as more buildings were being destroyed.

"What the hell is going on?" she yelled to herself as she quickly shed her pajamas and put on her sorceress attire before sprinting towards the door. Just outside, at her rushing attempt to find her comrades, she accidentally bumped into someone, hard.

"That smarts!" she rubbed her aching nose as she stumbled backwards.

"Itetete…Ah! Lina-san!" It was Amelia.

"Amelia," Lina cried out, now totally forgotten about her pain, "Did you saw the explosions outside?"

"Yes! That's the reason why I was looking for you! Come on, Zelgadis-san is waiting for us outside!" she quickly explained as she took the sorceress' hand and dragged her along the corridor.

"Wait! What about Gourry?" Lina managed to ask while still running alongside the princess.

"I tried knocking his door countless of time but he never answered me and I thought he was still tired so I left him in his room," Amelia managed between breaths.

'_Gourry…..'_

As they ran towards the main entrance of the palace, they could see that the sudden destruction has caused an uproar in the palace itself. The palace's servants, were running amuck, obviously frightened by the sudden attack while guards of the palace tried to settle them down.

'_Is this another one of those Mazoku's attack?' _Lina thought to herself as she and Amelia continue to run but when she turned to see the princess' troubled face, all those thoughts didn't matter anymore. _'She must be worry about her country and her people's safety. Who ever it is that is causing this, is going to be so dead when I find him!'_

Outside the palace, the chimera was waiting impatiently for them but the two girls didn't stop nor slowed down their pace. The chimera quickly ran alongside them.

"What took you guys?" he asked, obviously worried about Seyruun.

"Sorry," Lina simply answered, her face shows nothing but her seriousness. "Amelia, where's Phil and what's he doing about this situation?"

"The palace's minister had asked daddy to stay in the palace with Uncle Christopher and grandpa for his own safety since….," she trailed of her, unwilling to continue.

The sorceress watched her in sympathy, "He thought it was another one of those taking over Seyruun crap, didn't he?" the venom in her voice startled herself.

"Uh-huh, but of course daddy has ordered the palace's royal guards to take control of the situation. And because he knew us, he had asked us to use our powers to assist them. That is why we must hurry to the scene of the crime!" she replied, determination filled her voice.

The situation in the city was no better than it was in the palace, maybe even worse. People were running frantically, trying to find shelter while screaming in terror. Children who were running with their parents were crying uncontrollably. But a lone little girl who was crying in the middle of the chaos caught their attention.

As a believer of justice, it was her duty to protect the lives of innocent people, no matter how small the life is, "Little girl, come with me," Amelia called out to her as she changed her sprinting direction and ran towards the crying girl. Both Lina and Zelgadis immediately stopped their tracks and watched the princess.

"…?" A sudden jolt shook his body and in an instant the chimera knew that something wasn't right, "Amelia!" he yelled as he tried to catch up to her, surprising the sorceress.

Zelgadis' instinct was right when suddenly out of nowhere the large white beam from before crashed through the buildings, knocking the chimera and the princess away. The sorceress could only shield her eyes from the strong winds and the flying debris until the beam was gone.

"Zel! Amelia!" Lina yelled frantically as she rushed towards her companions. When she finally found them, she let out a sigh of relief. Zelgadis was holding an unconscious but unscratched Amelia in his arms. There was a deep cut on his left arm though but he was already healing it with his Recovery spell. When Amelia finally got to her senses, she quickly snapped her head towards the direction of the crying girl and when she finally found the spot, she let out a harsh gasp.

The spot where the little girl was supposed to be was replaced by fire and fallen debris from the destroyed buildings. There was no sign of any living thing there anymore, only dead bodies which had been cremated. The princess quickly diverted her head away from the scene and her grip on the chimera tightened.

"Amelia…" Zelgadis softly spoke her name. He didn't know what to do to make her feel better so he did what he could think of at the moment, he stroke her hair gently in his sad attempt to calm her down. Lina could merely watch in sympathy before turning her attention to the chaos surrounding them._'Unforgivable! Killing innocent people as if they're nothing but mere play toys!'_ she thought with gritted teeth.

"…she was just in front of me…..I-I should have been able..to save her…It's-It's my…fault," the chimera and the sorceress heard Amelia whimpered.

"What are you saying! It's not your fault! If Zel didn't manage to catch up with you, then you might be..!" Lina yelled at her, unwilling to end her phrase but still she was angry at Amelia's statements. Amelia turned silent, probably judging her words.

"Lina's right," Zelgadis spoke, "The Seyruun Kingdom cannot lose their princess now. You still have a lot to accomplish Amelia. You can't be like this now….The, no your people needs you right now," Lina's mouth opened slightly, amazed by the chimera's words.

The sound of fallen buildings could be heard far away, which snaps back Lina, '_That's right! We have to find the asshole that's causing this!'_

"A-Amelia…We have to find the culprit fast! If we don't, more people will die!" Lina spoke in a hard tone.

Amelia slowly turned to face the sorceress, her eyes were sparkling with tears but amazingly, she never shed it.

"Amelia," It was Zelgadis turn to speak, "You don't want anyone to die anymore, do you?" his tone was so soft that it surprised Lina as his hand made it's way to wipe her tears.

"..no," she answered weakly as she gently pushed his hand away, "No!" she yelled in determination as she brought herself back on her feet.

Amelia gripped her fist, "Whoever is behind this will pay! I, Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun, princess of the Seyruun Kingdom will punish him with the Fist of Justice!" she exclaimed, full-spirited.

Lina helped the now-fully-healed chimera back on his feet. The two of them smiled, "Right!"

"Um, Zelgadis-san? ….thank you," Amelia shyly spoke. Zelgadis blushed and Lina just grin at the two of them slyly.

A sudden sound of applause surprised the three of them and quickly they tried to find the source of the sound.

"Oh, wonderful! That's the most entertaining justice crap I've heard all day!"

Their eyes twitched at the familiar voice.

'_It can't be…..'_

A figure emerge from the rising smoke, his blond hair glowed against the crimson fire. He stood not far away from them as he raised the all too familiar Hikari No Ken in his hand. The evil grin on his face grew wider as he spoke.

"We meet again, Lina Inverse,"

"Gourry?"

**To Be Continue…**

**

* * *

****Ranting :**

First I wanna say thank you for the readers' opinions. They make my life so easy! And thank you again for still reading Hell's Breaking Point. Arigatou gozaimsu!

**Author's Note :**

Hahaha, Mr Blonde has arrive!

Gourry: Who me?

No! Phibby!

Gourry: But he's not blond…..or is he?

Zel: Actually, it is Gourry/Phibby.

Oh, whatever!

Xellos: Ne, Gourry-san! What's it like to do your 'business' in the bathroom when a Mazoku was watching your _every move_? (grins sinisterly)

Zel: Don't you have any better question? Don't answer him Gourry! (shakes Gourry violently)

Gourry: It was okay.

Zel & Xellos: (gasped in shock)

Zel: (turnes pale) Y-you mean you weren't embarrass at all when you…….okay, I'll stop now…

Gourry: Hei, Phibby said that this body is his body also so that means, my-

Zel: STOP IT! (continues to shake Gourry violently)

Xellos: Wow! (claps hands)

Hmm, it's good thing that I only include the boys in this A/N! Hahaha!

Zel: But, aren't you a female?

(blush)….um, well, er, I-I uh, have em, you know….ah! special privilege in this- Hei, it's my A/N! I can do whatever I want! Ceh!


	12. Truth Revealed

**Hell's Breaking Point**

**Chapter XII – Truth Revealed**

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers, …..oh, whatever…

Xellos was assigned a peculiar errand by the Lord Of Nightmare. At first, it was just a simple taunting game but as time goes by, the errand became more extreme until... (Mostly L/G and Z/A) - Takes place after Next and before Try.

Japanese Words:

Oka-sama : Mother aka L.O.N.

Oni-san : Big brother

Yare yare : Oh boy...(something like that)

Mazoku : Evil race/Monster

Juu Ou : Beastmaster

Minna : Everyone

'…….' Is for Phibby's thoughts

(….…) Is for Gourry's thoughts

* * *

"Gourry?"

(…minna…)

The grin on his face grew wider at their shock expression.

"What are you talking about Gourry? What are you doing here all of a sudden?" Lina yelled, dumbfounded by the swordsman's sudden appearance.

"What?" he feint a mocking surprise, "You still haven't figure out? I'm-" he stopped his sentences when he heard a dragging sound from behind. The others too looked to see what it was. A badly wounded guard was forcing himself to drag his limp body towards the swordsman with his arms.

(…!)

"Y-you… I-I'll kill you….!" the man struggled to let his voice out but could only whisper them as he coughed up blood. Even if it were only just whisper, the words echoed in the others' ears as clear as the church's bell.

"What?" Lina and the others gasped.

The swordsman let out a snort of disgust, "You're still alive, eh? What nuisance," he simply said as he kicked the injured man, causing the guard to yell in pain.

(Stop it! He can't do anymore harm to you!)

'_Harm? Such naïve man…I'm just doing all this for my own entertainment,'_

(..you bastard!)

"Gourry-san! What are you doing!" Amelia cried out loud at the swordsman's sudden change of attitude as she rushed to aid the now unmoving Seyruun guard.

Phibrizzo's eyes narrowed at the sprinting princess. With one swift movement, the light blade of the Hikari No Ken was now an inch away from Amelia's face.

"O-oi! Gourry?" both Lina and Zelgadis shouted simultaneously in confusion.

"G-Gourry-san….?" Amelia whispered a weak tone as she stared at the blonde man in front of her, afraid to move.

(A-Amelia? Don't you dare hurt her!)

'_Oh shut up,'_

"You still don't get it, do you?" he spoke with a smirk on his face, ignoring the protests from Gourry, "Still haven't figured out the one behind all this destruction," he emphasized his words by gesturing his free hand at the blazing surrounding. Lina's eyes twitched.

"Are you saying that you know who did all this..?" Amelia said in a stuttered voice as she eyed at the blade in front of her in uneasiness.

'...no' Lina thought to herself as she watched the swordsman intently from his smirking face to his legendary sword, _'…that white beam…it's…it's the…'_

"It's you, isn't it?" the words came out from the sorceress' mouth as she glared at him, her fists tightened, _'..that beam was from the Hikari No Ken….'_

The chimera looked at her as he too somehow was leaning towards that fact.

Phibrizzo lowered his sword much to Amelia's comfort, "Very good. I expect no less from you Lina Inverse," he replied.

(…Lina..)

'_Lina Inverse…..Gourry rarely called me by my full name…..' _"Who the hell are you?" Lina shouted in anger, finally realizing that the swordsman in front of them was not the one they knew. _'What's going on here? Why did the bastard took the form of Gourry and how did he got his hand on Gourry's Hikari No Ken?"_ Then a surge of panic rushed through her, _'Did something happened to Gourry?'_

Phibrizzo nodded at the sorceress, "Ah, but first," His eyes quickly darted towards the princess, "You, get out of my face," he hissed at her evilly, utterly shocking her. One shaky leg made its way behind her as Amelia quickly diverted her gaze from the threatening man in front of her to the unconscious man on the ground. Phibrizzo noticed this.

"Oh, don't waste your precious time on him. He's dead….right about now!" he yelled as he strikes the lying figure with his charged sword, smashing it to bits. Amelia let out a sharp gasp as she just stares at the scene just in front of her.

A low growl catches the sorceress' attention. Peering to her right, she saw the chimera shaking violently as he balled up his fists.

"Stop torturing her!" he roared as he charged towards the swordsman, his hand already unsheathing his sword.

(Z-Zelgadis?)

"Wait, Zel!" Lina yelled in panic as she watched her companion run carelessly into danger.

But it seems the Hellmaster was being generous that night when he only dodged the attack before jumping unto one of the destroyed building.

Zelgadis stomped his foot in anger as he locked eyes with Phibrizzo, "Who are you? Why are you doing this?" he yelled out loud.

The swordsman merely chuckled at him, "What? You don't even recognize your own companion Gourry Gabriev?"

(Cht!)

Now it was Lina's turn to yell in anger, "Like hell you're Gourry! Gourry would never do something as inhuman as this!"

Phibrizzo smirked at them, "That's true. He was such a nice, caring and chivalrous man. I guess his disgusting personality never changed even after I caught and turned him into my puppet at Kataart Mountains," he simply spoke, ignoring the fact that he's giving away hints about his identity.

Lina, Zelgadis and Amelia gasped simultaneously.

'_Kataart Mountains? That's where we fought Gaav and…..? ….puppet? It can't be!'_

"Y-you're Hellmaster?" the three of them shouted in shocked.

"Bingo!" Phibrizzo exclaimed cheerfully.

'_The most powerful subordinate of the dark lord Ruby Eye Shabranigdo. The one that had turned Gourry against us who seeks to fulfill the dark lord's wish; bringing the world back to chaos. …but, he was destroyed by the Lord Of Nightmare..'_

"How can you sill be alive?" Zelgadis asked the question first.

"You can thank that to your Gourry friend," Hellmaster grins, "I possess his body,"

(Like I have no choice?)

That respond received a chuckle from Hellmaster, "I guess you're right. Now would you stop complaining and let me do my job in peace," he asked Gourry in a cheerful manner.

(It's the only thing I can _do_ to you!)

"Heh!" he scoffed.

"W-who are you talking to..?" Lina suddenly spoke, her tone unsure.

"Why, I'm talking to your beloved companion. For you see, when I possessed him back in Sairaag, I couldn't consume his body properly as I had little strength left. The only choice I had left was to combine my spirit and his, which will lead to me becoming one of the lesser demons. But, I had used the rest of my power and the ones that I had instill in him to control him before, to split my spirit with his. Which means this body now contains two spirits and the effect of that, we can communicate with each other mentally. Which is a bit of annoyance lately," he ended with a hmph.

As Hellmaster was explaining, a hand made its way to grasp the shirt above her heart as Lina took deep huge breaths, _'T-this can't be happening again….G-Gourry is…Gourry is…'_

The chimera who heard her loud breathing, peered at her in, "Lina…," he whispered in sympathy.

"Unforgivable!" the thought of the sorceress was spoken aloud by Amelia, "Possessing our friend of justice to take advantage of us!" she yelled, somehow she had snapped back into herself.

'_Cht, it's not like I have any choice!'_

(That's what I said!)

'_Oh, shut up!'_

Hellmaster wiggled his forefinger, "Tsk, tsk, tsk. That is not important. The important is the reason why I'm here. Lina Inverse!" he called out as he aimed the tip of his light blade at the sorceress. Lina quickly snapped her head towards him as her eyes locked into his now hazy blue eyes.

"Cast the Giga Slave now!" her body jerked at the command, "If not, this man dies!" he ended with an evil grin.

"What?" Zelgadis and Amelia shouted in unison while Lina just stood there, staring at the swordsman in disbelief.

(Lina won't do something as stupid as that!)

'_Oh, we'll see about that'_

(…….)

Somewhere on top of the Seyruun's palace, a figure was happily watching the scene with a smile, "Yare yare, threatening to kill Gourry-san even though the action will destroy himself as well since like oka-sama had said; that is his very _last_ physical body. But, it seems Lina-san and the others are oblivious to that. Very slick of you, Phibrizzo-san," Xellos mused to himself as he swayed his legs back and forth which was dangling from the rooftop, "So, Lina-san. What will you do now?"

"Well? What is your answer Lina Inverse? Will you cast the spell that will consume this world in chaos or let the man you're willing to sacrifice anything die?" Hellmaster asked again, his stare pierced into the sorceress eyes. The chimera and the princess too watched her, waiting nervously for her respond. But when the sorceress found their eyes on hers, she quickly bowed her head and let her bangs covered her expression, as if she was ashamed of herself.

'_S-she's not seriously wants to consider…is she..?'_ Zelgadis thought to himself in alarm.

Amelia was literally speechless with the sorceress' action. She knew that Lina will try to protect Gourry's life even at the cost of the world. She had done it once, there's no doubt that she will do it again. But she couldn't force herself to persuade the silent sorceress otherwise since she too doesn't want to lose her dense yet lovable blonde companion. _'What to do! What to do!'_ she thought in panic as she switched glances from Lina to Phibrizzo.

"Zel, Amelia," her two comrades turned to the soft voice and when they saw the sad smile on Lina's lips, they knew what her answer was, "I'm sorry…,"

"Lina!"

"Lina-san!"

But the sorceress didn't heed her companions' harsh protests as she took a couple of steps closer to the grinning swordsman and stopped when she was close enough to him.

"Phibrizzo! I'll do as you say!" she shouted to him.

(L-Lina? NO!)

'_Such gullible child. Why would I want to destroy my only physical body?'_

(..? What do you mean…?)

'_How dense of you. I have bound my spirit into this body for a chance to survive after oka-sama's attack. Which means if I destroy this body, I had destroy myself with it,'_

(So you're saying if you kill me, you'll be dead too?)

'_Precisely. But this is a secret between you and me,'_

(Damn it! If only Lina knew!)

Hellmaster snorted at Gourry's words but then he ignored him and turned to the sorceress below, "Well then. I'm waiting," he spoke sarcastically.

Lina managed to growl at him before bowing her head and closed her eyes in concentration, _'I gotta do this. I can't lose Gourry…not now. Not when I just found out my feelings for him……That's why I'm going to save him. Save him so I can tell him that I…that I…'_ Lina gritted her teeth as she tried to control her emotion, _'If only I can somehow control the spell….'_ the sorceress eyes suddenly flew open, _'That's it! It's a long shot but I have no other choice!' _

She finally made her final decision; casting an amplified Giga Slave, _'This trick will increase the power of the spell but it'll also increases my magic capability which also means that it will probably increase my chances on controlling it,' _Her eyebrows furrowed, _'It's now or nothing! This is for you….Gourry,'_

(A/N : Sorry but I couldn't find an the translation for this so bear with the Japanese incantation, kay?)

"Shikai no yami o suberu ou. Nanji no kakera no enishi ni shitagai. Nanjira subete no chikara mote. Ware ni sarenaru chikara o atae yo," she whispered the incantation as Hellmaster plus Xellos watched her in amusement (The fruitcake was feeling amusing for other reason). But something went wrong.

"L-Lina-san..! The talismans are not glowing!" Amelia exclaimed, snapping the sorceress to reality.

"W-What….?" Lina spoke in panic as she outstretched her arms so she could see her talismans. Sure enough, her blood talismans didn't emit any respond to the chaos words.

"What does this mean?" Zelgadis interrupted.

Then it hit her hard just like the time when she received back the pain from kicking Gourry's crotch, thanks to Martina's curse, '_I-it can't be….I know it'll be soon…but now?_' Lina thought in distress as her face turned pale before she dropped to her knees. Zelgadis and Amelia ran to her side, wanting to know the cause of the problem. Even though the sorceress was muttering in a quiet voice, the two of them was able to hear the troubling statement.

"I-It's the time of the month….,"

"Eh?" Amelia yelped while Zelgadis had his mouth hanging wide openand his face shows a hint of red.

Hellmaster arched an eyebrow at their sudden change of the situation, "What is the problem? Cast the spell now!" he commanded again.

Far away, Xellos who had watched the turn of event was laughing hard on top of the palace's roof.

"I-I can't! I- it's the…it's the….," Lina couldn't continue. Why should she lecture the Mazoku who threatened to kill her protector about women's time of the month? Hell, it was embarrassing!

(Can it be?)

'_What is it now!'_

(I knew it! She's having her time of the month!)

'_Eh..? The time of what?'_

(You know! The time when sorceress or priestess couldn't use their magic powers!)

'_You mean that at this moment, she can't cast the Giga Slave? Aw, for Ruby Eye-sama's sake!'_

Man, if Lina knew that Gourry was discussing the 'topic' with Hellmaster, she would have died of embarrassment.

'_So when can she use her magic?'_

(…..I have no idea…)

'…_this is a very crappy night..'_

"Lina Inverse!" Hellmaster shouted at the kneeling sorceress.

"H-hait!" she quickly got back on her feet, her face blazing red.

"When will you be able to use your magic?" he asked sternly, his face was dead serious but all that was lost to Lina as his question echoed inside her head.

'_Oh crap! He KNOWS? Oh, let me just die now!'_ Lina mentally cursed at Phibrizzo, her face now completely red in embarrassment.

"Answer me! Have you forgotten that your beloved companion's life is in my hand?" That did it. That simple threat easily snapped her back to normal.

'_Damn it! My magic will be back after two or three days but……Gourry….,'_ the sorceress thought to herself as she turned her gaze at the ground.

"On the-"

"After seven days!" Amelia suddenly blurted.

Lina's eyes flew open at the false statement and stared at the determined princess in disbelief, _'That's the time when the period will end not when the day when I recover my magic. Amelia should know that! Phibrizzo would know-'_

"Very well,"

"Eh…?" That was shocking. It seems that Hellmaster had bought Amelia's lie, _'..wow, nice job Amelia. Hook, line and sinker…but, this is no time for personal joke!' _Lina babbled mentally as the princess secretly let out a sigh of relief.

"Seven days. That is the maximum time I will give you to prepare yourself. On that day, be sure to meet me in, oh why don't we make this easy, in Sairaag," Phibrizzo slowly sheathed the Hikari No Ken as he spoke, "But, if you decided to flee. You know what the consequences will be,"

Lina gulped as she and the others stared at the swordsman.

(..Don't worry about me Lina..)

Suddenly without warning, Phibrizzo jumped from the broken building's rooftop and landed gracefully in front of the sorceress.

"Lina-san!" Amelia yelled in alarm.

"Don't move," Hellmaster voiced out at the moving princess and the chimera making both of them stopped. Blue eyes connected to deep amber.

"I always wonder why oni-san has any hopes for you?" he spoke with a grin as he cupped the sorceress' chin.

Lina's breath hitched behind her throat as he viciously crushed his lips unto hers.

Her body shook against the swordsman's but the sorceress couldn't move. She couldn't force herself to struggle against his assault even though she knew that the man in front of her was not the one she had care and come to love. Her only attention was the swordsman's lips moving against hers; Gourry's lips. The lips that she had dream of tasting with her own for a long time.

(You bastard! Stop it!)

'_Why? Aren't you enjoying this? This is what you want, isn't it? I'm just doing you a favor,'_

(I said stop it! Stop it! Stop it! STOP-)

"-IT!" the swordsman suddenly shouted against Lina's swollen lips. Both he and the sorceress gasped in surprised and as they try to catch their breaths.

For a moment, both of them just stared at each other in silent. Both Zlegadis and Amelia too was too shocked to think of an action.

"…L-Lina…?" Gourry slowly whispered her name as he gazed her with his clear blue eyes.

Lina's eyes widen at his sudden gentle voice, "G-Gourry?"

'_H-how can this be? How did you?'_

Using the strength of his spirit, Hellmaster forced himself to be dominant over Gourry's body again.

"Gourry..?" the sorceress brought her hand to touch the swordsman's face but she suddenly withdrew her hand when she saw his eyes. They had turned hazy again as they glint with malice.

"And that's the end of that!" he smirked. The sorceress unconsciously took a couple of steps back away from the menacing man in front of her.

"Oh, that is pathetic Lina Inverse," he mocked her retreating figure as he brushed away his long bangs, "Are you afraid of me? Afraid of your own companion's form?"

'_No!' _the sorceress shouted mentally, _'I-I'm afraid of my feelings for Gourry…of the power this emotion called love took hold of me…..making me…vulnerable and…weak'_ she gripped her fists as she try to push away the emotion that had weaken her.

"You're wrong! I, Lina Inverse is not and will not be afraid of you or Gourry!" she suddenly shouted as she pointed an angry finger at him making Phibrizzo arched an eyebrow in surprise.

(Lina..)

A grin made its way to the amused swordsman, "Very good. Well then, I'll see you in seven days then. Remember, you're friend's life is in my hand," he spoke before slowly retreating away from them.

Seeing Gourry's figure slowly walking away madethe memories when Hellmaster had first captured him fill her mind. She couldn't help it but her emotions came back full force.

"G-Gourry!" she yelled in panic as she tries to run after him. Even though she knew that her emotions are her weakness, she couldn't deny them. She loved Gourry. She needed Gourry.

"Lina! No! You can't do anything in your condition!" Zelgadis shouted as he grabbed her hand, preventing her from getting away.

Hellmaster who had watched the sorceress change of behavior, smirked to himself before quickly disappearing from their sights.

"Gourry!"

**To Be Continue…**

**

* * *

****Author's Note :**

First I wanna say thank you to those who had given me their opinions. They make my life so easy. So I guess I'll do this story the long way then.

Lina & Zel : (sarcastic) Oh, whoop diddy…..

Amelia : L-Lina-san….(eyes watery)

Lina : W-what…?

Amelia : I-I'm so sorry for you….G-Gourry-san is…

Lina : Oh, don't worry about that. Although I don't know what's going to happen next, I do know that it'll all work out in the end. (Glares at me) IT BETTER BE!

…ehehe…Lina-chan, you're scaring me….

Gourry : Oh, don't worry. Yumekage-san said that this story will have a happy ending.

Lina : (blushes) What kind of happy ending..?

Xellos : Sore wa himitsu desu!


	13. The Swordswoman Is Who?

**Hell's Breaking Point**

**Chapter XIII – The Swordswoman Is Who?**

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers, …..whoop diddy…

Xellos was assigned a peculiar errand by the Lord Of Nightmare. At first, it was just a simple taunting game but as time goes by, the errand became more extreme until... (Mostly L/G and Z/A) - Takes place after Next and before Try.

Japanese Words:

Oka-sama : Mother aka L.O.N.

Oni-san : Big brother

Yare yare : Oh boy...(something like that)

Mazoku : Evil race/Monster

Juu Ou : Beastmaster

Minna : Everyone

'…….' Is for Phibby's thoughts

…… Is for Gourry's thoughts

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The disastrous night finally ended, but it left a big scar on the city of Seyruun which will take a long time to heal. The sun made its appearance as morning came. For Lina Inverse, last night had been the most dreaded night of her life and perhaps it would continue to this day too.

"What?" her voice boomed in the palace.

Amelia cringed, "I-I'm sorry, Lina-san but I have to stay…I want to go with you and Zelgadis-san so that we can save Gourry-san together but…I have my responsibilities here too…" she trailed off as sadness filled her eyes, "The people of Seyruun need me. Besides I have to explain to them that technically it wasn't Gourry-san who did all of those horrible things last night,"

Thousands of emotion flickered in the sorceress' eyes but the princess didn't notice it, _Gourry…… _Lina mentally shook her head. Now was not the time to pity herself. Now is the time to come up with a Mazoku proof plan to save Gourry and destroy Hellmaster once and for all. The chimera stood in silent as no words come to mind.

Lina nodded her head as her face softened, "I understand. But, if you've finished your job here in Seyruun, find us as soon as possible. We…I can't do this if none of you guys were with me," Lina said softly as she embraced the princess in a gentle hug.

"L-Lina-san…" Amelia was touched by her words and she tightened the embrace, "I promise that once I've finished my duties here in Seyruun, I'll find you and Zelgadis-san. I mean, it's not hard to find the infamous dra-mata, bandit killer, Lina Inverse," For once the sorceress didn't mind being called the dra-mata as she and Amelia exchanged giggles.

The chimera smiled at the touching scene.

"Hang in there Amelia," Lina knew that last night must have been hard on the princess. She'll need all the emotional support she can get or else she'll be just like her; emotionally torn…And she didn't want that to happen to her 'little sister'.

"You too, Lina-san," Amelia replied in a soft tone as she broke the hug. The sorceress just smiled at her before nodding slightly.

Zelgadis walked up to the two of them; giving an affection pat on Amelia's head, "You'll do just fine here, as the princess of Seyruun…" he smiled at her.

"Thank you, Zelgadis-san," A sweet smile appeared on her face.

"Alright then. It's time to go Zel," the sorceress spoke as her demeanor turned to her normal self.

"Where?" Zelgadis asked and was surprised when a sweat trickled down the sorceress' cheek.

"I-I'll explain it on the way. See ya, Amelia," Lina flashed a strain smile at her before walking towards the palace's entrance.

"Uh, wait for me outside," Zelgadis hollered at her. Amelia looked at him in confusion as his face started to grow red. Throwing a nervous glance behind him, he sighed in relief as the sorceress was already out of his sight. Ignoring his thumping heart, he placed both hands on the princess' shoulders and brushed his lips gently on her forehead.

"Good luck Amelia,"

Amelia was shocked as her face grew warm but before she could react to his bold gesture, the chimera had already walked out of the palace.

"Zelgadis…." Amelia breathed out as one hand touched her forehead, savoring the feeling.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What took you so long?" Lina had asked once the chimera had caught up with her.

"Just saying goodbyes," he simply replied with a small smile although his face still held hints of red. Lina just shrugged in respond.

As they walked through the city of Seyruun in daylight, they could clearly see the destruction work of Phibrizzo. True that it wasn't the whole city that was destroyed but a part of Seyruun was still a large piece of land. You could say that Seyruun had lost that large amount of lives that night.

"Seyruun looks even worse in daylight," Lina spoke as she and Zelgadis watched their surrounding. Tons of buildings were destroyed making them feel as if they were walking through some ruin. Pieces of planks and stones scattered everywhere. They also saw the people of Seyruun crowding the place as they helped each other, either helping to rebuilt the city once again or look for their love ones who may still be trapped under all those rubbles.

"It makes me feel like I should help them or something," she continued. Truth is, Lina felt guilty right now. She kept thinking that all of these were her fault. She clenched her fists.

Still looking forward, the chimera spoke, "You can help them. By destroying Phibrizzo, which brings me to my earlier question; where exactly are we going?" he instantly arched an eyebrow when he heard her took a gulp, "Lina..?"

"Okay, you know that Gourry is an unbelievably unmatched swordsman and the last time we fought him, we barely made it if it wasn't for my Ragna Blade," she spoke in low tone.

Zelgadis nodded his head.

"So now that Hellmaster possessed him, who knows how much stronger he had become," she continued.

The chimera turned to look at her, "So what's your plan?"

"Well, defeating him with our magic will be excruciatingly hard since he'll just absorb our spells with the Hikari No Ken. So what's left is the physical attack…." She can't even comprehend what she had just said. Defeating a Mazoku with physical attacks? That's suicide but….

It seems the chimera too had the same thought as he voiced it, "You're kidding right…? And besides fighting against Hellmaster means that we're fighting against Gourry also! I'll bet that even if we were able to wound him, Phibrizzo will just find another host to possess," the chimera stopped walking as he spoke the words that the sorceress wasn't ready to hear.

"We're gambling with Gourry's life!"

Lina's head drooped, "…..I.."

"Ah, but you're mistaken…"

Both Lina and Zelgadis stopped their tracks at the familiar voice. Lina instantly growled when a figure emerged from one of the destroyed building.

"Xellos!" she hissed as she made her way towards the grinning priest, ready to throttle him.

"Tsk, tsk Lina-san. If you resort to violence, I won't tell you a secret information," Lina showed no sign of stopping, "..about Hellmaster Phibrizzo," he added.

That did the trick.

"Even if you know something I doubt that you'll tell us," Zelgadis glared at him as he folded his arms.

"Oh, Zelgadis-san. Have you no faith in me?"

"I never had faith in you," was the reply.

Xellos made a mocking pout, "I see. Well if you don't need me, I'll just be on my way," he turned to face the opposite side.

"Wait!" His lips curved into a grin at her voice.

"…tell me," Lina's voice was faint but it was clear in his ears, showing how desperate she was to save her beloved protector.

Xellos quickly turned back to face them with a wide smile, "Well if you're that desperate," One violet eye cracked open, "Like I've just said, you're mistaken Zelgadis-san,"

"What do you mean?"

"Gourry-san's body is the last physical form that Hellmaster will ever have. That means that in order for you to destroy him, you'll have to destroy Gourry-san,"

"You're lying! There must be another way!" Lina's reaction was instant. Zelgadis just stood in silent, still trying to process the logic from Xellos' statement. Xellos said nothing for a while which just added to Lina's fear.

"…there is," A small hope glimmered in the sorceress' eyes at his words, "But you'll have to find the answer to that from the person you're currently trying to seek, Lina-san," he ended.

…_the person I'm currently seeking..? …! …oh, hell! _Lina thought in distress as Xellos' sentences finally sank in.

"How did you know that?" she asked in a harsh tone. The chimera watched her in confusion because well, he was confused…and because there was fear written all over her face.

"That is a secret," Xellos smiled at her as he wiggled his finger before turning to the other direction, ready to walk away.

"Xellos?" he stopped walking for a moment but never turned to face her, "Why are you telling us this? Why are you betraying your own kind?" She needed to know his reason for his action, frightened that there's a catch behind it.

Still having his back in front of them, he spoke, "Hellmaster is no longer one of our kind, no longer a Mazoku. To be a part of a human, a part of our ultimate prey, has made him, how you humans say…lower that dirt. The Mazoku will never accept him now even though he still has our ambition; bringing the world into chaos. He's the embarrassment to the Mazoku and for that he has to be destroy….one way or another," the tone he used somehow brought fears in their hearts and both of them couldn't help but took a nervous gulp. He turned his head a bit and they saw a small grin on his face, "And we're giving you to be the first person to do that," And with that he disappeared into thin air.

"I guess humans are that despicable to them as they are to us…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Amelia! Amelia!" Prince Phil's voice boomed inside the palace.

Amelia's body shivered at her father's loud voice. Since this morning, she has been evading her father, too afraid to confront him. She still hasn't found the right words to break the news. What should she tell him? A Mazoku that they had failed to kill had possessed her companion was the one who had destroyed a part of the city just to lure Lina out? _What to do? What to do?_

A sudden pressure on her shoulder shook her out of her reverie as she let out a frightened yelp.

"Amelia! Where have you been! I've been searching for you all morning!" her father spoke as he withdrew his hand from her shoulder.

"D-daddy..? I-I…uh,"

"Amelia, I have to ask you something! Last night, most of the soldiers that I had sent to arrest the assailant had died from battle, so we couldn't receive any valuable information from them but…." His eyes' turned serious, "..those who had managed to survive had told me that the person who was responsible for the attack…had long golden hair and was wielding that light sword…"

Amelia averted her gaze from him.

"Why won't you say anything…..It's…it's Gourry-dono, isn't it..?"

Amelia kept quiet.

"Say something! It's him, isn't it?" he spoke in a harsher tone as he grabbed her shoulders.

"Yes! Yes! …it's Gourry-san…" Amelia suddenly blurted out, her face close to tears. Phil just looked at her in dumbstruck. When he had heard the news, he couldn't believe it. Gourry, who was a nice, polite lad, was killing innocent lives and destroying the city. Who can believe that! The young lad who had saved him when he carelessly tried to attack Copy Rezo and who had always sided with justice was murdering people? He thought that it was a bad joke but now, coming out of her precious daughter's mouth….

"…why?"

"A high level Mazoku had possessed him…and…"

"When? He looked normal last night," his voice lost the harshness.

"I don't know…We only found out about it when we encountered him last night?"

"So many people had died…but," Amelia couldn't bare to look at him right now, "..it..it's not really Gourry-dono who had done all those injustice actions, isn't it? An evil Mazoku had taken over his actions…" Phil lifted his daughter's chin up so that they were face to face and gave her a warm smile, "So, Gourry-dono is not guilty,"

Amelia's face lit up and quickly she hugged him, grateful to have such an understanding father.

"But.." Oh no, another 'but', "…the people won't take this as easy as I had. They have never met the nice lad. It's going to be tough to convince them," Phil could feel Amelia nodded against his chest, "But.." What? More 'but', "..if justice is on Gourry-dono's side, then everything will turned out find in the end,"

Amelia lifted her face to look at her father, "That's right, daddy! With the power of love and justice, we will return Seyruun to its former state and destroy the evil Mazoku!" she exclaimed in full energy as her father nodded eagerly at her.

"Right then! Lets go help our people who is in need of help, Amelia!"

"Right daddy! For justice!" And with that, the father and daughter ventured out of the palace to carry out their duties as the prince and princess of Seyruun but importantly as allies of justice, hand in hand.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Are you going to tell me now?" Zelgadis had asked for the fifth time as his level of annoyance increased. They had already left Seyruun city and was walking through a vast field towards to only Lina knew where….All Zelgadis knew that they were heading north.

"FINE!" Lina yelled at the persistent chimera. It's not like she's afraid to tell him….Why would she be afraid? …All she has to do is give him the name of the person that 'she was currently seeking'…..Just a name…._Her_ name….Just thinking about it make her want to pee in her pants…

"Well?"

"M-might as well explain to you first why I'm looking for _this_ person," she stuttered at the first part.

"Shouldn't you be telling the person's name first before you.."

"Like I said before," Zelgadis glared at her for ignoring him, "..battling Hellmaster with magic will be a challenge but we should have a chance if we fight him physically," Lina spoke.

"But, you do know that, I am no match for Gourry's sword ability…and as for you…" the chimera stopped himself as he cleared his throat nervously. Apparently, Lina knew what he was trying to say.

"Hei! I may not be a master swordswoman but my sword skills are above average!" she yelled at him, angry for being looked down.

"So that means whoever you're seeking is a master swordsman then," the chimera went back to the precious topic, partially frightened by the fuming sorceress, "..a swordsman who is in league with Gourry," he finished, wondering if it was possible for anyone to have the sword talent like Gourry's…

_Maybe even 'over league' with Gourry… _"Uh-huh," was Lina's respond and silent ensued. Both of them continued walking to who knows where except for Lina.

Zelgadis' eyes narrowed at her but he didn't say anything…for a few seconds that is, "Well? The name please!" His annoyance came crashing back.

Her face turned pale, "….L-L-L-L-L…" she mumbled incoherently.

"Lina!"

"It's Luna, okay!" she yelled back.

"Now was that so hard!" he responded back with the same heat, "Luna, eh?" the chimera pondered at the name, "Sounds like a woman's name…" he trailed off.

"It is….She's my big sister.." she spoke in a tone that made people think that it was a bad thing…

"WHAT!" Zelgadis yelled in disbelief.

A hysterical looked crossed her face, "We're going to hell in Zefielia to ask her to help us then ask her about that 'other way' Xellos told us about and then we kill Gourry and save Phibrizzo and then I die! Ahahaha! I'll die!" she was spouting nonsense as she laughed insanely…

The chimera overcame his shock about the swordswoman's real identity but now he was hell in shock with the sorceress' sudden twist of personality, _….kill Gourry and save Phibrizzo…? ….hell in Zefielia….? Why do I have a feeling that I don't want to know about this big sister of hers…. _He solemnly thought…. _Well, at least now I know where we're going, to Zefielia, which I presume, Lina's hometown._

The sorceress was still acting crazy when a familiar, horrible sound echoed in their surrounding.

"Ohohohohoho!"

Lina's eyes widen and if possible her face turned even paler, _Oh no! Oh hell no! Nonononononononooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!_

**To Be Continue:**

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note:**

Well there you go! Oh and for your question, Gerao-A. Amelia lied to Hellmaster so that they will have more time to prepare and strategize for the battle.

Lina: Ahahahahaaahaha! First Luna! And now Na-

Zel: Lina, do you know who's the person behind all that horrible laughing?

..what? Her laugh isn't that bad….I think…

Amelia: Hmmm, somehow I'm feeling nostalgic all of a sudden….That laughter…its familiar…

Gourry: Hei, Amelia! Aren't you supposed to be in Seyruun?

Amelia: What about you Gourry-san?

Gourry: Oh, right! I'll go back to slaughtering innocent lives then….. (leaves)

………

Zel: Someone should keep an eye on him….


	14. Naga's Comeback

**Hell's Breaking Point**

**Chapter XIV – Naga's Comeback**

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers, …..sigh…

Xellos was assigned a peculiar errand by the Lord Of Nightmare. At first, it was just a simple taunting game but as time goes by, the errand became more extreme until... (Mostly L/G and Z/A) - Takes place after Next and before Try.

Japanese Words:

Oka-sama : Mother aka L.O.N.

Oni-san : Big brother

Yare yare : Oh boy...(something like that)

Mazoku : Evil race/Monster

Juu Ou : Beastmaster

Minna : Everyone

'…….' Is for Phibby's thoughts

…… Is for Gourry's thoughts

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ohohohohoo!"

Lina instinctly plugged her ears with her fingers (even Zelgadis was cringing) and quickly shut her eyes as she turned to the opposite direction of the horrible laughter, hoping that if she ignored it, 'the woman' will leave her alone…

…but was she so damn wrong…

"I've finally found you Lina Inverse!"

Still having her back facing 'the woman', Lina replied, "Ohohoho! Ah, you must have mistaken me with someone else. My name is Sophia!" using her most high pitched voice. Zelgadis looked at her in total confusion.

…_Sophia...? …where have I heard that name…?_

The person snorted at her respond, "Like I would not recognize that pancake chest and that unshapely body of yours, Lina!" she ended with another round of 'ohohohoho's.

"P-PANCAKE?" Lina roared as she turned to glare at the 'woman', "After all these years, you still have the guts to insult my breast? Eh, Naga!" she screamed as she stomped one angry foot in front of her and another….and another…

As for Zelgadis. Being the intelligent chimera he is, he knew when not to butt in in a dangerous situation…especially if it involved Lina. But he did had a hard time taking his eyes off Naga's skimpy cloth. He may not know about the latest fashion, but that is one very bizarre clothing…

A sweat trickled down Naga's cheek. Finally she had found Lina but she didn't want to suffer from her wrath on their reunion, "Uh, c'mon now, Lina-chan. We finally got reunited again…Let's put away that..that scary scowl of yours and put on a smile instead…Y-you know! Greet each other….and then talk about the good old times!" Naga pleaded with a strained smile as she retreated a bit from the fuming sorceress.

A wicked grin crept up Lina's lips and that, Naga knew, was not a good sign.

"Okay. I'll greet you! With this! DILL BRAND!"

Naga managed to let out a yelp before the earth exploded underneath her feet. Smoke, dust and small chunks of dirt flew in the air, covering Naga's figure from Lina's sight.

Minutes later…

"Y-you're still as violent as ever, Lina…" Naga managed to mumble as she sprawled on the ground, twitching slightly.

"Hmph! Well you're as arrogant as ever, Naga!" Lina scoffed at her as she folded her arms, "What brings you to this part of land? Just to find me and insult my figure?" her voice dripped with anger and sarcasm.

"Ugh, that stings," Naga whined to herself as she sat on the ground, crossed legs, "Actually…" Lina looked at her, surprised at the sudden seriousness in her voice, "..I heard what happened to Seyruun last night…" Naga drooped her head, her long bangs hiding her expression.

"Eh? That fast?"

"How's Seyruun's state?" Naga asked in a low tone.

_Why is she so concern about Seyruun?_ Lina asked herself but she decided to answer her so-called rival, "Well, a part of the city was destroyed but we managed to scare off the attacker," _..scare off…yeah right…_ Lina thought solemnly. But no one needs to know that.

"How about the palace?"

Again, Lina was surprised by Naga's sudden concern towards Seyruun, "Uh, the palace is fine. No royalties were harm. Lets see…the King of Seyruun, Phil, Christopher, and Amelia were fine the last time I checked on them," Lina ticked the names off with her fingers, one by one.

A sigh could be heard coming from Naga, "I see,"

"…Naga..?"

The tall woman got back on her feet, "So I guess that means you weren't able to stop the attacker! I guess you can't do anything without me in the team!" Naga spoke. This time her tone was back to her arrogant type as she smirked at Lina.

"What did you say?" Lina countered in anger and in annoyance.

"By the way Lina, who's that?" Naga pointed to the silent chimera, "Oh, let me guess! Your boyfriend?" she spoke in a teasingly manner.

Both Lina and Zelgadis blushed.

"N-NO!"

"Oh, c'mon now Lina! You don't have to hide it from me!"

"I said no, okay! Can you stop it already! Oi, Zel! Tell her! Tell her that you already have Amelia!"

Zelgadis' blush doubled, _Well you have Gourry! _He yelled in his head although he didn't have the courage to voice it out…

"AMELIA!" It came from a very shocked and slightly angry Naga.

"Eh? Do you know her, Naga?"

"N-no…O-of course not! Ohohoho! Don't be silly!" Even though Naga had said that, she was glaring daggers at the blushing chimera.

Lina cleared her throat in embarrassment, "W-well anyway. Where are you heading Naga?" She had to change the topic NOW.

"I should be asking you the same thing!"

The petite sorceress looked at her ex-companion for a while as she had second thoughts on telling her the reason for this two person journey. But, past experience told her to trust Naga. Even though the White Serpent could be a BIG pain in the butt, she could also be very useful in battles…..sometime. So in the end, she had told Naga everything there is to know.

"So, basically, you're trying to find a way to destroy the Mazoku who had possessed your tall, buff and long blond haired companion's body?" Naga repeated again, just to make sure that she got all the details right.

"Yeah,"

_Hmm, this man must be important to her if she's willingly to face one of the dark lord's subordinate without any reward..._Naga thought to herself, "So, this Gourry…That's your real boyfriend?"

"WHAT?" Lina blushed...yet again.

_Hah! _Zelgadis mentally smirked to himself, _It's payback time Lina!_

"N-No! He…he's just…H-he's just….uhh…." Now it was Lina's turn for her blush to doubled as she was lost for words.

"Ohohohoho! You're so easy to read Lina!"

"A-all you need to know that he's a far more reliable companion that you! A-anyway! We can't waste anymore time!" Lina suddenly blurted out as to change the subject.

Naga frowned at her statement, "What! Are you saying that I'm not reliable enough for you!" she yelled back, feeling very insulted.

"Yes!"

"What?"

"Calm down you two!" the chimera finally had the guts to speak out. Naga glared at him, making him feel very uncomfortable but fortunately for him, she didn't yell back.

"So, are you going to invite me into this journey of yours?" Naga asked after a while.

Lina reluctantly took a moment to think about the offer as she cupped her chin, "Nope!"

Naga was clearly taken back, "What! You're going to ignore your eternal riv-!"

"I have another mission for you," Lina cut her off, "I want you to keep an eye on Gourry for me," she looked back at her. Oh well, she'll need all the help she can get…even if it means getting help from the skimpy, gold fish poop sorceress…

The tall sorceress looked at her petite companion as if she was crazy, "You're kidding, right! Why would I waste my precious life and wondrous beauty for that suicide mission?" Lina's eyes twitched at her snobbish reply.

"Well you're the one who said not to ignore my so-called eternal rival!"

"Well I don't want to keep an eye on someone who has been possessed by one of Shabranigdo's subordinate! Who knows what will happen to me if he finds out that I'm spying on him!"

"But Hellmaster has never seen your face and beside this will be a good idea to keep track on his plan!"

"The answer is still no!"

_Cht! How stubborn can she be! _Lina thought wryly. Then an idea hit her, _Maybe I could bribe- uh, I mean reward her with something…._

"What if I give you a priceless, valuable and precious item for doing the job?" Lina bargained with a small smile.

Naga's ears twitched at the proposal but she forced herself to refuse it, "Hmph! Nothing is worth my priceless life!"

"Uh, how about…how about…" _Damn you Naga! C'mon Lina, think! Think of something, _"….the Hikari No Ken!" _Ooops…that did not just slip out…oh, crap! _Lina thought in alarm.

Even Zelgadis had his mouth dropped by her sudden proposal.

"T-t-t-t-t-t-t-the Hikari No Ken! The legendary sword which was used to slain the Demon Beast Zanaffar? You have _that _sword?" there was a crazy glint in Naga's eyes.

"N-no! The sword is mine! I-I'll give you something else-!"

"If it's not the Hikari No Ken then you can say goodbye to that spying mission," Naga cut her off quickly.

_Damn it! Me and my big mouth! _"Okay, fine! You won, okay! But, Gourry has the sword so in order for you to get it; you'll have to help us defeat Hellmaster first!" Lina exclaimed in an annoyed tone. The chimera's jaw dropped even lower.

…_unless I steal it from him first…_ Naga grinned from ear to ear, "Okay Lina! You got yourself a deal!" she shook her hand with Lina's reluctant hand in agreement, "So, where's this Gourry anyway?"

The petite sorceress glared at the grinning and enthusiastic Naga for a while before answering, "Hellmaster said to meet him in Sairaag in seven days but I'll bet he won't just go straight to Sairaag. He'll probably stop by the towns on his way,"

"How can you be sure?"

_With him possessing Gourry's body, I'm sure he'll stop to every restaurant he can find, _"Just call it my woman's intuition," Lina grinned back at her.

Naga stared at her in confusion, "…you have a woman's intuition? …But you don't look like a woman…" Then her usual arrogant smile appeared, "…with that breast of yours! Ohohohoho!"

Lina immediately growled at her, "Y-you over-flated breast witch! Don't you have a job to do! Mega Brando!"

"Aiiiiieeeeee!"

A smile of relief crossed Lina's lips as she watched Naga being blasted off towards possibly Hellmaster's current location, "Phew, glad that's over," she spoke cheerfully before turning to the still-in-silence chimera, "Gee Zel. You've been quiet the whole time. Don't you have any curious question about that more-stuck-up-than-Martina woman?"

The chimera folded his arms, "…I don't think I want to know anything about the relationship between you and that woman…"

"Good!"

"But why did you send her to that dangerous mission?"

"Trust me. I've spent enough time with her to know that she's indestructible…Naga will be fine," Lina replied back, as old memories of when Naga kept surviving from her Dragu Slave popped into her mind…

"Okay…Another question please,"

Lina looked at him puzzily, "What?"

"Why did you just bargained _Gourry_'s Hikari No Ken to her?"

Lina froze for a moment, "Eep. Hehe, but don't worry! I'll do something about it!"

Zelgadis' narrowed his eyes at her, "…uh-huh…But, she seems to be the persistent type. Your blow-up-people-and steal-their-treasure-and-then-run away plan won't work against her,"

"Well, Naga is not going to take _my _Hikari No Ken just like that! No way I'm gonna let that happen! I'll find some way, if it's the last thing I'll do! I'll stake my life on it! Kyahahaha!" the sorceress put both hands on her hips as she laugh maniacally. Zelgadis sweatdropped…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Damnit! Could you stop that growling!"

(It's not my fault that my stomach's hungry!)

"Well stop it from growling then!"

(It'll only stop the growling when it's stuffed with food!)

"Gaaaaah! Fine! Lets stuffed it with food then!"

(Yaay!)

"Cht!"

It was the most bizarre thing to look at; a man yelling to himself. One could think that he was just lonely and was longing for a companion…

Wow, what a load of bull…

Anyway, all eyes were on him as he trudged grudgingly through a small town just outskirts of Seyruun, searching for a restaurant to dine.

"..damn it! Your, my, I mean _our_ stomach is starting to feel weird…." Phibrizzo whined to Gourry as he rubbed his still-growling stomach.

(Well, that's another sign that we need to eat)

"…..ugghh…" Hellmaster moaned.

(…..You know, what happened to that kid who kept following me back in Seyruun?)

"The kid? He's still following us from behind. See," Phibrizzo spoke as he turned his head to face behind him so that Gourry could see and like he had just said, the boy was quietly following them, not far away.

(B-but, I didn't even sense his presence…!)

Hellmaster let out an amused laugh, "He's good, isn't he? His great talent is the only reason why I kept him in the first place," But Gourry wasn't listening to him as his attention was glued to the grim faced boy. Even though the boy had tried to threaten him before, somehow, now, looking at him walking with a slight frown on his face, Gourry felt sorry for the boy.

(…why don't you let him join our brunch?)

"Why? It's against my nature to help other beings especially humans," Hellmaster replied back in an emotionless tone.

(….but..!)

A sudden crashing sound startled the two of them as Phibrizzo halt himself.

"….!" he swirled himself towards the direction of the sound. Even the boy was copying his action. Not far from there, smoke or most probably clouds of dust were flying upwards, filling the air.

(..what happened..?)

Hellmaster didn't reply as he stood still, his eyes narrowed at the rising clouds of dust before turning back in front of him, "Lets just find someplace to eat…" he finally spoke as continued walking with the boy slowly on his trails.

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In a nearby restaurant…

(Hehe, it's a good thing you ordered set A! I can't get enough of meat! But I don't think this will be enough though…)

Phibrizzo was currently busy chowing down the meal in front of him when Gourry was 'talking' to him. Taking a couple of gulps from his drink, he set the glass back on the table, '_…you know. You've being awfully friendly lately…'_ he replied back as he grabbed another chicken wing to munch on.

Gourry didn't reply instantly…

(To tell you the truth, I can't forgive you for what you did last night…)

'_What? Ah, that kiss incident..?'_

(You toyed with Lina's feelings! That look she had when you kissed her….I could never forget that expression…)

'_It was exquisite, wasn't it?'_

(!...but, I realized that getting angry and furious at you won't help the situation. That's why I forced myself to cope with you…for the time being…)

'_For the time being? What makes you think that you'll be free from me?'_

(Because Lina will defeat you…)

'_Heh! The only thing Lina Inverse will do is cast the Giga Slave!'_

(No, she won't. She'll never cast it!)

'_She had done it before, what makes you think that she won't do it again?'_

(Because…..because I believe in her…)

"You-!"

"Master!" the boy popped out of nowhere and was currently standing beside him. Hellmaster looked at him and saw the boy nudged his head towards the outside of the restaurant. Understanding what the boy was indicating, Phibrizzo quickly stood up from his chair, spat out the chicken bone in his mouth, gripped the hilt of the Hikari No Ken, and slowly made his way outside the building.

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Naga was crouching on the ground, trying to come up with a strategy to accomplish her spying mission.

_Kyuuu….How am I suppose to do this…Just watching him from afar isn't going to get me anywhere…I need to hear some of his conversation with Lina's Gourry if I want to find out about his plans…_

'_A-all you need to know that he's a far more reliable companion that you!' _Lina's earlier statement echoed in her mind. Anger and frustration started to build up in her.

_The nerve of her saying like that! Hmph, to let a Mazoku easily possess his body…that's what she calls reliable!_

Naga gripped her fists, "I'll show that Lina! I'll show her that this Gourry is not even in league with me!" she suddenly yelled out loud.

"Lina? Are you perhaps referring to Lina Inverse?"

Naga quickly turned to face the owner of that voice. Her eyes went wide when she saw her prey standing in front of her, his hand gripped the hilt of his sword.

_That must be my Hikari No Ken! _She thought in glee and then reality hit her hard, _Um, okay this is not the right time for that…_

"One of her companion I presume?" Hellmaster spoke as his lips curved into a wicked grin and his grip on the sword's hilt grew tighter.

**To Be Continue…**

**Ranting :**

Sorry for the late update. My modem was having some technical difficulties…

Lina : Yay!

But now I've got a new and a more reliable modem!

Lina : Booo!

Sorry if Naga's a little OOCin this story…I think she is anyway…

Lina : No, she's the same!

But I'll try to make her more Naga-in-the-anime like!

Lina : Noooooo!

R&R please!

Lina : Nooo..Uh, I mean yeeees please!


	15. Finding Courage

**Hell's Breaking Point**

**Chapter XV – Finding Courage**

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers.

Xellos was assigned a peculiar errand by the Lord Of Nightmare. At first, it was just a simple taunting game but as time goes by, the errand became more extreme until... (Mostly L/G and Z/A) - Takes place after Next and before Try.

Japanese Words:

Oka-sama : Mother aka L.O.N.

Oni-san : Big brother

Yare yare : Oh boy...(something like that)

Mazoku : Evil race/Monster

Juu Ou : Beastmaster

Minna : Everyone

'…….' Is for Phibby's thoughts

…… Is for Gourry's thoughts

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"Amelia-san? Amelia-san!"

The princess waited for the wound of one of the victims from last night to be fully healed before turning towards the source of the voice.

It was Sylphiel.

"Sylphiel-san? What are you doing in the palace?" Amelia asked in confusion.

Sylphiel looked at her surrounding, "I heard that the homeless victims were welcome to stay and to be taken care in the palace so I thought that I should lend a hand with my white magic," her eyes were still glued at the numbers of victims lying on spare beds and even on the floor of the palace who were being treated by the royal white magic users.

A smile crept up Amelia's face, "That's wonderful. We need all the help we can get. The palace staffs are too busy outside trying to dig out survivors under all those destroyed buildings. Even daddy and Uncle Christopher had to lend a hand," she replied, feeling very grateful to find a reliable help.

"Yes, I could see the commotion outside. It's terrible. I didn't expect to see this many victims. I'm afraid to find out the total lives that were lost last night. Thank goodness my uncle is in no harm," she breathed out a sigh of relief as she walked towards a wounded aged man just near Amelia. She then started to chant a Recovery spell.

"Your uncle's okay? That's good to hear," Amelia replied back as she began to put bandages on her patient's wound.

Sylphiel concentrated on her spell for a while before replying, "Yes, it is. By the way Amelia-san, where's Gourry-sama and the others? Are they busy helping the victims too," she asked, eyes still glued at the aged man in front of her.

Amelia perked up at her question, "Eh? Didn't you know? Lina-san and Zelgadis-san had left to find a way to save Gourry-san," she whirled her head and looked at the other shrine maiden in confusion.

"Eh? …save Gourry-sama…?"

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"One of her companion I presume?"

"Not her companion! Her rival, Naga the White Serpent!" Naga replied back, showing no fear to the menacing swordsman in front of her as she stood up, dusting herself in process. Hellmaster made a sound of amusement.

(…Lina's rival…? Wow, that's some big bre-)

The grip on his sword loosened, "Too bad. Never heard of you," he simply shrugged as he turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Hellmaster showed no sign of complying.

"Don't underestimate me just because I'm a human, Hellmaster," Phibrizzo abruptly stopped walking at her statement. Fortunately for him, no one (other than the two of them) was paying any attention to their conversation. Probably to stay away from any trouble, "Lina told me all about you. About how you had possessed her companion's body,"

Phibrizzo turned to face her, a wide grin appeared on his lips, "And yet now you're trying to provoke me. Are you trying to waste your life?" he taunted.

But, shockingly Naga's smug expression never faded, "Even though, you are one of Shabranigdo's subordinate, now, in that condition," Naga pointed one finger at him or more precisely at Gourry's body, "I bet you have lost some of your previous abilities as the Hellmaster. Plus, with you inhabiting a human body, you're now prone to both astral and physical attacks," Naga mentally thanked the times and memories she had spent when she was a shrine maiden in Seyruun, studying everything there is to know about the white and ancient magic, even the other types of spell and other races. Oh, and there's always the new discoveries and experiences she had gained from her travels.

(Wow! I never knew Lina had such a great rival!)

Phibrizzo narrowed his eyes at the smug sorceress for she knows too much about his current condition, _It seems that she's confident with her words…_, "What makes you think that?" he challenged her with a smirk.

"Since you keep having conversation with yourself, or perhaps, with Gourry like an idiot. That is a sign that you were not able to possess and control Gourry completely. A high-class Mazoku would have accomplished that task without any trouble but you, you're not so high-class anymore, are you?" Naga crossed her arms with a satisfying grin on her face.

Hellmaster's smirk never faded even after knowing that her theories were correct, "And what if you are correct? Do you think you're still capable of destroying me?"

"Heh, lets just see what the outcome of the battle will be," She said confidently, _I can always run if I needed too… _Naga made a mental note, just for safety.

Much to Naga's surprise, Hellmaster burst into laughter. His body was hunched forward as one hand grabbed his knee while the other was clutching his stomach. Naga's eyes twitched in irritation at the sight in front of her. Obviously he was mocking her. After his laughter had finally died down, Hellmaster let out a long sigh before starting to walk away.

_Grrr! Nobody insults Naga the White Serpent and gets away with it! _Naga yelled in her head as she gritted her teeth, "I told you not to underestimate me, the great Naga!" she yelled back furiously.

"Naga, eh?" Phibrizzo stooped walking, one hand rested on his side, "Or perhaps Gracia Ul _Naga_ Seyruun?"

Naga's eyes widen, "H-how did-?"

Hearing her stuttered reply, Hellmaster turned back to face her, "So, I guess I was right," he smirked at her, "Oh, don't be so surprise. When Gaav was busily trying to regain control over Seyruun, I stumbled upon rumors about the lost princess of Seyruun, Gracia, who supposedly left the kingdom to travel the world," he coolly explained as he brushed his long bangs away.

(Hei, she's a princess from Seyruun just like Amelia…..! Wait a minute! You mean she's Amelia's-?)

Naga didn't respond.

"Heh, I can't believe an ex-shrine maiden of the renowned kingdom of Seyruun abandoned her rank as princess as well as her people just for the sake of traveling. Probably giving free 'service' to anyone you meet in your travels," Hellmaster continued, "And of all things dressed yourself as a bloody cheap whore. What? You don't have enough money to buy enough clothes to cover your body? Hei, tell you what? Instead of wearing that little piece of crap you called cloth, why don't you just be butt naked, ha? Hahaha," he laughed again, cynically this time.

(Hei! You've gone too far with those insults….although, I'm creep out by her sense of fashion too…)

Hellmaster was annoyed with Gourry butting in, so he decided to add a notch to his insults, "If I were a citizen of Seyruun, I would be appalled to have a princess who has no dignity what so ever,"

Naga's jaw clenched tightly at the sight of the man in front of her. Anger and rage started to build up within her. How dare he! Not only did he insulted her mother's memento but he also insulted the reason she started to travel in the first place; to be even stronger so that her past would never repeat itself again.

…_mother… _

Usually she wouldn't care less about the comments people gave her. Heck, Lina used to go about her clothing (plus her laugh) but Naga would just happily countered back with the breasts comment. But somehow, this time, it's different. The blonde man had gone way beyond insulting. Not only that, he's laughing at her in a creepy and evil way!

_Unforgivable! _She thought in anger as emotions took over her body. Her hands were brought to one side, ready to cast a spell.

Hellmaster, who saw her sudden action, raised an eyebrow, "Sorry, but I won't waste my time with a worthless, bimbo speck with absolutely no pride like you," he spoke as he walked away.

"Wait!" Naga snapped as she tried to run after him, but a sudden hard blow to her stomach made her dropped to her knees, halting her advance. Gasps could be heard from a crowd nearby. Shocked and in pain, she looked up to find her assailant, a teenage boy. Although his disheveled dark brown bangs covered his eyes, she knew that he was staring at her, emotionlessly.

_When did he-?_

"Life is a terrible thing to waste, no matter how pathetic yours are," the boy spoke with the same coldness as Phibrizzo before following Hellmaster obediently from behind. The two figures slowly disappeared from her eyes as her sight became fuzzy.

"…damn it..damn it…" Naga's grip on her aching stomachloosened as her head drooped even lower and she fell unconscious. The last thing she remembered was seeing people flocking around her worriedly.

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"Hei, Lina?"

"Huh? What is it Zel?"

"Why didn't we invite Sylphiel back at Seyruun? Her powerful white magic would be very helpful in our battle against Hellmaster," the chimera asked as he lifted his head, watching the twinkling stars in the dark sky above him, half of his thought wondered worriedly about a certain princess.

There was a long pause but Zelgadis kept staring at the dark sky, still waiting for Lina's answer. A small chuckle caught his attention and quickly he brought his gaze at the sorceress in front of him. There was a small smile on her face but the chimera noticed that it wasn't a cheerful smile.

"It's funny really. I knew that Sylphiel would find out about Gourry and the truth about last night but…" she stopped for a while as she hugged her knees and stared at the red flames of their campfire, "…I guess I was afraid to confront her. Afraid to tell her that I lost Gourry to Phibrizzo again…"

Zelgadis arched one eyebrow, "Afraid?"

Lina flashed him a strain smile, "I told you it was funny," But then she quickly went back to staring the red fire. The action brought confusion to the chimera.

Zelgadis watched the sorceress, analyzing her condition, _Something's wrong with her. She must be bothered by something…_ He wanted to know why she was behaving so peculiarly so he pressed on, "Afraid of what?"

The sudden shock look on her face confirmed it. Another long silence ensued but the chimera patiently waited for her to reply. But, after a few quiet minutes had past by, he knew that she didn't want to answer his question.

"Forget about what I've just said. You don't have to answer it," Zelgadis spoke in a low tone, still wondering about her behavior.

Hearing him said that, the sorceress went back to staring at their campfire but this time most of her face was covered by her arms while her bangs covered the rest of her face. The surrounding was now covered by awkward silence.

"I gotta go freshen up," Lina suddenly voiced out as she quickly stood up, surprising the chimera.

"A-ah, okay. The river is just a short walk south of here," he reminded her, "Umm, and if anything happens, just launch a fireball into the air as a signal," he continued, feeling a little worry about his troubled companion.

"Uhhhh," Lina scratched her head uncomfortably, "I couldn't even if I wanted to,"

"Huh?" Zelgadis was confused for a moment and then it hit him, "Oh…the time of th-,"

"Uh, yeah… So gotta go!" she quickly cut him off, feeling mostly embarrass at the moment as she ran towards her destination, leaving the chimera all alone.

Zelgadis watched her figure disappearing behind the lush, thick forest before letting out a sigh, "…I could never understand woman…"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Why didn't we invite Sylphiel back at Seyruun?_

Lina gently slipped her hands into the freezing river before splashing some of the water on to her face.

_Afraid of what?_

"What am I afraid of, huh?" she mimic Zelgadis' question as she plopped on to the soft riverbank next to her removed gloves, wiping her face with her bare hand. Letting out a long sigh, she let her body lay against the comfy grass so that she could see the vast, pitched black sky.

_I know what I'm afraid of… I'm afraid that Sylphiel will accuse me of Gourry's predicament. I'm afraid that people will say that it's my fault all of this had happened… _

_I'm afraid that I would start blaming myself for this… And…_

She could feel her eyes starting to get watery but still she forced herself not to spill any of it.

_...I'm afraid that I would start thinking that Gourry would be better off…without me… That I wish he never had met me…_

Her hands gripped the soft grass behind her.

_But I don't want to think like that! I never regretted the time I spent with Gourry even if most of the time he could be such a jellyfish for brain…_

The sorceress had to smile at the thought.

_I…I don't want to experience losing Gourry again…_

Her eyes drooped slightly.

…_That painful feeling when I saw his crystal started to shatter…_

Her surrounding started to get fuzzy. She didn't even notice that a small tear had spilled from her eye.

…_Gourry…_

Her eyes completely drifted shut and she fell into a deep slumber.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"_Actually, there's something I want to ask you, Lina," he spoke in a serious tone._

"_O-okay," Lina stammered, wondering what kind of a serious question Gourry was going to ask her and then her mind processed something. Her face turned several shades of red while her heart started to thump loudly. 'Could he be asking about…..'_

"_If you have to choose between the world and….some…thing precious to you, which would you choose?"_

_Lina mentally fell backwards. When she finally regained back her composure, she let out a sigh, 'I should have known better…' she thought to herself as she push away her own disappointment but there was also a feeling of confusion. 'Why did he ask me this all of a sudden….? Oh well, better answer him,'_

"_..well, that's easy! I'll take that precious something-of-mine, thank you very much!" she answered in a proud tone, hoping to lighten the mood but looking at Gourry's unfazed expression, she knew that he wanted the correct answer from her._

"_..but, that would be wrong. The correct and right choice would be choosing the world," she slowly answered. Her face softened and so does Gourry's._

_One hand made its way on top of her head and Gourry affectionly ruffled her hair and because she was so use to it, it didn't bother her anymore._

"_That's right but personally it doesn't matter to me which choice you take because if you ever gotten yourself in that situation, I know that you'll come through for yourself, for the rest of us and for the world. I believe in you Lina. Always have and always will," he spoke gently as a loving smile grazed his lips._

_Lina's blush came back full force so she tried to hide it from him by bowing her head as she bashfully replied._

"…_thanks, Gourry"_

……..

"Gourry!" Lina yelled out his name as she jolted from her dream.

Placing one hand on her forehead, she saw the bright sunlight shining through the forest' leaves and it all came to her.

She sighed, "…a dream…" But instead of tears falling down her cheeks like last time, a small smile came instead, "You're right, Gourry…No matter what we encounter, we will make it through together in the end," her smile widen and for the first time after the incident that night, the sorceress felt like her old self again as new hope fills her heart.

"Because victory will always be mine!"

**To Be Continue…**

**Ranting :**

Some of you may be surprised that I had updated this chapter quite fast. That's because I'll be going to my university soon. So I have to try to try to try to try to finish this story as soon as possible!

Lina : Wow, another long break for us?

(ignoring Lina) Anyway, fans that are not familiar with Naga's history may got confused on some of the conversations above. Way back before Naga left Seyruun, her mother got killed by an assassin (who was supposed to kill Naga not her mother) but in the end Naga managed to kill him (correct me if I'm wrong here…) Probably feeling guilty about her mother's death, Naga decided to travel so that she would obtain more power. And that's that…

Gourry : R&R please!

Oh, and I know that you're probably thinking where the hell is Zelgadis? Well, wait for the next chapter!


	16. Home Sweet Home

**Hell's Breaking Point**

**Chapter XVI – Home Sweet Home**

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers.

Xellos was assigned a peculiar errand by the Lord Of Nightmare. At first, it was just a simple taunting game but as time goes by, the errand became more extreme until... (Mostly L/G and Z/A) - Takes place after Next and before Try.

Japanese Words:

Oka-sama : Mother aka L.O.N.

Oni-san : Big brother

Mazoku : Evil race/Monster

Juu Ou : Beastmaster

'…….' Is for Phibby's thoughts

…… Is for Gourry's thoughts

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"Because victory will always be mine!"

"I wouldn't expect it otherwise,"

Surprised by the sudden reply, Lina quickly turned to find a half grinning chimera not far away from her, who was carrying a handful of fishes in his hands.

"Zel?" Looking at her surrounding, she found herself back at their camping spot. _Zel must have carried me back here…Hei, wait a minute! That means..! _She thought in alarm as her face started to grow red.

Lina quickly stood up while arguing with herself whether to throttle her companion or thank him for his concern, "Did you carry me here last night?" she said in a murderous tone with accusing eyes. Okay, she was heading towards the throttling idea…

"No, I levitated you back here," he said in his little sarcastic way. Like hell he'll say 'yeah, I saw you sleeping all alone beside the river so I got worry and then I carried you, in my arms, back to our campsite'. Not a freakin' chance…

"Oh, that's good then," she simply replied in a calm manner as she stretched herself.

Zelgadis sighed in relief.

"So, is that breakfast?" Lina suddenly spoke again as she pointed a finger at the fishes in his hands.

Taken by surprised, it took him a couple of seconds for the word 'yeah' to come out from his mouth.

Instantly, the sorceress' face perked up, "Oh, goodie goodie goodie!" she said cheerfully as she ran to their already-died-out campfire. The chimera just watched her curiously. For a while she just stood there, in silence, staring into nothingness, for a long time, when…

"…Zel…" there was a hint of sadness in her voice.

"…I know Lina…" he said in a surprisingly soft tone, probably because he felt sorry for her, "Here, let me…" he walked towards her. Just beside her, he dumped the fishes on the ground, extended his hands and…

"Fireball!"

…voila, one campfire ready!

"I want my powers back!" the sorceress yelled.

"Now, now. Stop acting like a kid and help me prepare our breakfast," Zelgadis said as he handed her some fishes and some long and narrow sticks. Whining a little for her loss of power, Lina obediently followed the chimera's order.

_Hmph! I would have bonked him uh no, have, uhh, ah, lifted a giant rock and hit him with it but I'm too hungry to care…_

A dozen of fish later…

"That was a very nice breakfast!" Lina exclaimed happily as she patted her quite bulgy stomach.

Zelgadis just smiled at her in respond.

Letting out a big, satisfying sigh, the sorceress quickly got back on her feet, "Well, that was a very relaxing break but we still have miles to go before we reach Zephilia. We better resume our journey," she said while wearing her usual smile.

The chimera looked at her for moment which made her feel very uncomfortable.

"What?"

He gave her a half smile as he stood up, "Nothing. It's just that you're finally back to normal," he replied as he started to put out the fire.

Lina put her hands against her hip, "Well, Lina Inverse would never let anything get her down!" Yup, she was definitely herself again, "Besides,"

The chimera glanced at her. There was a loving smile on her face as her eyes gazed something far away.

"I guess, last night rest was all I need to feel better again,"

"Feeling much better that you'll enlighten me about this so-called sister of yours?"

"…no!"

Even so, the chimera couldn't help but counter her previous smile.

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"Unngh," Naga moaned as her eyes slowly opened. The first thing she saw was the bright sunlight shining through the window.

_W-window..?_ She thought in alarm as she rose from surprisingly, a bed.

"Where am I?" she asked to no one in particular.

"You're in my house,"

A shrieking 'aaaaaah' was emitted from the White Serpent's mouth, as she scrambled to the other side of the bed.

"You don't have to yell, you know…" the person spoke in a low tone.

Naga found herself face to face with a middle aged man who was sitting on a small stool just beside the bed.

"W-who are you? And what am I doing here?" Naga asked, feeling very suspicious.

"Ah, how rude of me. I'm Nicholas and you are?" the man smiled innocently as he extended one hand to her.

Naga peered at the still-very-suspicious looking man in front of her, "…What am I doing here?" she repeated her question again.

"Oh, I found you unconscious on the street. No one would want to treat you so I took the responsible to nurse you back to health," he answered in a calm manner.

Naga cupped her chin, "Hmm, I've noticed that the people here like to keep to themselves…"

Nicholas shook his head, "You have to forgive them. The townspeople here don't fancy strangers. They're a very cautious bunch,"

"And yet you had treated me when that kid…!" Naga stopped herself. _That's right! Phibrizzo! _"Nicholas-san, how long have I been unconscious?" she asked him immediately in a panic voice. Oh man, if Lina finds out that she had lost Gourry…who knows what she'll do to her…

"Almost a day…It's already morning. Why?"

_Morning already? Phibrizzo could be miles away by now! _"Did you know where the tall, blonde man and that kid who punched me went?"

"…no. All I saw was the town folks crowding around you," That's didn't help one bit!

Naga quickly scrambled off the bed and started to search for the exit, "Thanks for nursing me! Gotta go!"

Before Nicholas could react, she had already run through the front door.

"…such a weird young lady,"

Naga ran through the town, stopping by any bystanders she found so she could asked them about Gourry's location. But, fortunately, none of them knew.

After a while exhaustion reared its ugly head and Naga didn't have any choice but to catch her breath, "Haaa, what to do now…?" she asked herself between breaths.

Okay, so here are the choices she made up. One, keep looking and hope that there's a 1 percent chance that she might bumped into Phibrizzo. Two, turn back, pretend that nothing happened and continue on with her traveling.

"No way! My pride is at stake here! And not only will I lose my chance to swipe that Hikari No Ken but if somehow, someway, Lina manage to destroy Phibrizzo, she'll never stop blabbering about my failure!"

…okay then.

"But there is choice number three…" Her lips curved into a nervous grin.

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"Well, here we are. Zefielia,"

"Umm, Lina? Why are you hiding behind that tree?"

"N-no reason. Hehehe. Why don't you go first Zel?"

"I would if I knew the location of your house…"

"Just go straight and then turn left at the-,"

"Lina!"

"Can't you do this by yourself? I mean there's no need for two people to do this…"

The both of them went on like that for a while until the chimera's patience finally snapped. With one swift move, Zelgadis grabbed one of Lina's arms, pulled her away form the tree and dragged her into town, ignoring her cries and pleads.

As his ears blocked out Lina's whining, Zelgadis took the moment to observe Lina's hometown. It wasn't anything like Seyruun. It was like in a countryside with lush grape vines filling the place. The buildings there were simple and small, the trees and plants were lush and green, the fields were vast as the eyes could reach, the air was fresh and clean…

…and the people…

…oi, the people…

"Get back here you wretched brats!" a bulky lady screamed as she chased two boys and a girl with a long broom in her hands.

One boy looked behind as he wiggled his tongue at the lady, "Hahaha! Come and catch us if you can, you old fart!" The other two kids laughed on queue as they ran in unbelievable speed while evading everything that the lady threw at them.

Oh, but there's more…

"Eeeeek!" a girl suddenly screamed before hundreds of fascinating words were spewed from her mouth.

"Oh, don't be mad just because I took a peek beneath your skirt!" a teen male spoke in an arrogant manner before he fled as the girl started to chase after him, destroying everything in her path…

"Wow," that was all the chimera could say, "I see where you get your warped personality, Lina,"

"What's that suppose to mean?" the sorceress snapped, finally coming back to her senses.

"Lina?" Someone spoke.

"Hei, it's Inverse!" And another.

"Hei, Lina!" And another!

"And I see you're quite popular in your hometown," Zelgadis added.

The sorceress let out a nervous chuckle, "Hehe, you could say that," Well after those nude projections of her sister's stunt, who can blame her…Well, anyway…

Hearing the familiar voices of her old friends and neighbors were actually quite nice.

"Wow, I gotta tell Luna-san!" Another one spoke.

Okay, that wasn't nice…

"NOOO!" Lina screamed as panic started to build up.

"Oh, don't bother yourself since I'm already here," Said a very familiar voice.

Lina literally froze as her panic doubled.

Because she didn't dare to face her fear, her fear had no choice but to move in front of her, so that she could see her, see her grinning at her, which always is a bad sign for Lina…

…and Lina went unconscious…

"Ummm," Zelgadis really didn't expect this…

Luna Inverse walked in front of him, "Grab Lina and follow me,"

And follow her he did.

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"Boy?" Hellmaster spoke as he and the boy walked along another long road path.

"Yes, my lord?"

_Only five days left…Still, I'm tired of waiting for Lina Inverse…_

Phibrizzo studied the boy in front of him. Although he had known him for a short time, the boy had proven himself to be a great swordsman and a great magic user.

…_unless…_

"What is the most powerful magic you can cast?"

The boy stared at his back with emotionless eyes, "I dunno sir. I've never experimented with higher-class level of spells…"

Hellmaster turned silent for a while, pondering, "How about the Dragu Slave?"

(The Dragu Slave?)

"I have heard of that spell but I never tried to cast it before,"

Hellmaster abruptly stopped walking, "Then try it now. Show me the extent of your power," he turned to look at the boy with an evil stare.

(What are you planning Phibrizzo?)

The boy simply nodded his head and proceeded to walk towards a large empty field. Satisfied with his distance, the boy stopped and brought out his hands upwards.

"Darkness beyond twilight, crimson blood that flows... buried in the flow of time... in thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness! Those who oppose us shall be destroyed by the power you and I possess!" he slowly spoke as his eyes drifted shut.

Hellmaster grinned at the boy's action, _He knows the chaos words for the spell…_

The boy's body shook for a second while the light between his hands flickered as he tried to channel his magic powers properly and then his eyes flew open.

"Dragu Slave!"

A blinding red light zoomed from the boy's hands towards the field and seconds later the field was completely destroyed leaving clouds of dust and a huge crater instead. The boy fell to his knees as he tried to regain his strength. Apparently, he had used too much power to control the spell. But that didn't matter to the Hellmaster.

(He managed to cast it?)

_Hmm, he managed to complete the spell in one try. Although it's not as powerful as Lina Inverse's but the boy proved to have great talents…_"Good work but now the real test begin," Hellmaster grinned even wider.

The boy turned to look at him, still in ragged breath; his eyes for once were flickered in confusion.

"I'm going to teach you to control the chaos spell, the Ragna Blade"

**To Be Continue…**

**Ranting :**

Lina : He's going to teach that brat the Ragna Blade! Is he insane?

No, he's just a misunderstood Mazoku…

Xellos : No, he's not. He's just lonely…

Well whatever. Now, the big questions are; what is Hellmaster planning? What's Naga's plan? And when will Lina confronts her fear?

Lina : Umm, something stupid, something even more stupid and NEVER!

Xellos : Umm, Yumekage-san? When is my next appearance?

Soon, Xellos...Soon...

Xellos : YES!

Lina : NO!

R&R please! XDXD


	17. Rekindled Hope

**Hell's Breaking Point**

**Chapter XVII : Rekindled Hope**

Disclaimer : I don't own...

Lina : UUUUSSSSS!

...thank you very much Lina...

**Japanese Words:  
**  
Mazoku : Evil race/Monster

Ne-chan : Big sis

To-chan / To-san / Oto-san : Father

Ka-chan / Ka-san / Oka-san : Mother

-chan is used to put more affection in the calling

'…….' Is for Phibby's thoughts

…… Is for Gourry's thoughts

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ragna Blade...?" the boy whispered the name with a shock expression while still trying to regain his strength from casting his previous and first Dragu Slave.

"Yes," Phibrizzo grinned even wider, amused by the boy's sudden lost of his usual emotionless facade, "..have you heard of it?" he asked teasingly.

The boy cast his gaze downwards, "Yes. But I heard that the only one who can cast it is..." his eyes darkened suddenly, "...Lina Inverse..."

"Ah! But we will change that. Now, stand up," The boy followed his master's command obediently, "Stretch out your hands and outwards as if you're holding a broad sword," The boy stretched out his hands.

Taking a precautious step, Hellmaster moved away from the boy until he's satisfied with the distance between them. Although a part of him was anticipating a negative result from his 'slave', he couldn't help but feeling a little giddy at the moment, "Now I'm going to recite the chaos words for the spell. Chant it correctly,"

Confusion and suspicion suddenly sparked in the boy's eyes but as quickly as they came they quickly disappeared. _...It doesn't matter... Nothing matters anymore... _The boy thought with his eyebrows furrowed before closing his eyes shut.

"Lord of the dreams that terrify. Sword of cold and darkness, free yourself from the heaven's bonds,"

The boy copied the first, two sentences of the chaos words.

Black sparks started to form between the boy's hands as the chaos energy started channeling through the physical world. Hellmaster's lips curved into a maniacal smile. He was overjoyed with the outcome of his little experiment, overjoyed until he ignored the sudden change in the boy's expression; from calm to the painful expression the boy was now wearing. At the moment, nothing else matters to the Mazoku except for the completion of the Ragna Blade.

"Become one with my power, one with my body, and let us walk the path of destruction together,"

_'If he can complete this spell...then..._ _Now, to finish the incantation' _Hellmaster's eyes suddenly snapped wide open '_...no!'_

The black sparks started to deteriorated, spark by spark.

The boy clenched his teeth even harder as controlling the power of chaos was too much for him to bear. Casting a superior level spell is one thing, but to force him to cast such spell after his first Dragu slave , now that's just pure insanity!

...but...

The boy's eyes narrowed as his face contorted into anger.

But he has to do this. He has to show those people, to prove to them that he's even stronger than any of them. To prove that he's not a weak and helpless boy anymore. His face returned to his previous expression as he pushed away his dark past out of his mind and focusing more on completing the spell.

Because there's no turning back now...

"Hello!" but there's always those pesky obstacles...

The boy yelped in surprise as he stumbled backwards, away from the sudden-appearance of a familiar priest. The action made him lost his concentration on the spell completely making the deteriorating black sparks between his hands disappeared instantly.

"Xellos!" Hellmaster spoke his name icily, obviously furious at him for interrupting his plan.

Xellos just kept on grinning as he switched glances from Hellmaster to the surprised boy and back to the furious Hellmaster, "Now, now Phibrizzo-san. You don't want me to feed on you negative emotion now, do you?" he spoke in his usual cheerful manner.

"Well then, you'd better enjoy it since it will be your last feast!" Hellmaster snarled threateningly as his right hand reaches the sword's hilt.

But the action brought no fear to the Beastmaster's general. _This is new. Hellmaster Phibrizzo has always been calm and yet now... I guess, being in a human body has brought a great deal of burden to him... _Calmly, he replied, "I was just joking. I didn't come here to disturb your secret and devious plan," he smiled as one eye slit open, "I have information about Lina-san,"

The name made Hellmaster regained his composure.

Xellos grinned at his sudden change of behavior, "She's now in Zefielia. Seeking help from her older sister to find a method to destroy you without harming Gourry-san. Ah, speaking about Gourry-san!" he waved a hand at the blonde man in front of him, "Hello, Gourry-san! How are you?"

(...terrible... Wait! Lina's with her big sister...? ...Lina has an older sister...?)

"The Knight of Ciephied?"

Xellos nodded, "Yes, and it seems that she's very familiar with the Spirit Disintegrator legend,"

(...the street...generator...?)

Hellmaster grew quiet for a while as he processed the information, "Cht! Now I have the Knight my way. She never made any moves before, why now!"

The priest shrugged his shoulder, "Well, I don't think she'll lend Lina-san her strength. I think the most, she will probably give her an advice or two. But still, any help from the Knight herself should not be taken lightly," he spoke in a serious tone on his last statement.

"Heh!" the blonde man turned his back against the priest, "...the Spirit Disintegrator... That would surely give them the upper hand...," then he was silent for a while, "Xellos, you're telling me this information following who's order?"

Xellos smirked, "That is of course, a-se-cret!" _Hehe, you really have no idea, don't you, Hellmaster Phibrizzo-san..._

Hellmaster scoffed at him but did not press the subject, "Oi, kid!"

The boy who was quiet the whole conversation turned to his master.

"Go to Zefielia. Find what Lina Inverse is planning and stop them from getting their hands on that weapon, the Spirit Disintegrator," Hellmaster then gave the boy a deadly glare, "Stop them at any cost,"

The priest perked up, "Oh? Then what are you going to do, Phibrizzo-san?"

Hellmaster scoffed again at nosy priest before continue walking along the road.

"I'll be making preparations in Sairaag," And with that he disappeared from their sight.

Taking his eyes off the road, Xellos turned to face the quiet boy who was now preparing himself to cast a Ray Wing spell.

"Why do you help him even after knowing that he's a Mazoku?"

The boy was silent for a while, "...for power," he finally replied before casting the spell and flew towards his next destination, Zefielia.

Xellos sighed to himself, "Why can't there be more humans like that?" and then he vanished into thin air.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Zelgadis felt weird and awkward...

He was following Lina's older sister obediently from behind while ignoring the countless stares from the folks of Zefielia. They must be staring at his freakish form or... maybe because he had hauled the unconscious sorceress over his shoulder. It's not because he wanted to but because Luna had warned/threatened not to carry her in his arms. ...well at any rate, if they won't reach Lina's house soon, he's going to drop Lina and put on his hood for protection from the stares.

"We're here," Luna exclaimed in a low tone.

Thank the gods!

The chimera scanned the house in front of him from top to bottom. It was a plain brick house, not too small yet not too big. But the house yard is huge, filled with plants of many sorts. There's also a small area of vineyard, a Zefielia trademark. Besides that, there's also a huge clearing in the middle of the yard. Then there's the bizarre markings. Burn and cut marks to be exact on the ground and on some of the sturdy trees. Zelgadis lift an eyebrow on the somewhat mutilated trees.

Luna seems to know his curiosity, "That's Lina's doing when she was practicing to become a more competent sorceress/swordswoman before she went on her traveling. Honestly, that girl would wreck anything for her own gain," she ended with a sigh.

Zelgadis sweatdrop, _No objection there..._

"Please come in," Luna spoke as she open the front door for him.

Hesitantly, the chimera let out a "thanks" and went inside. Luna followed from behind.

The interior of the house too was nothing special. Just normal rooms with normal furniture.

"Could you put her on her bed in her room first? It's the second room to the right across the living room," Lina spoke in a laidback manner as she close the front door, "Just lay her down and leave the room,"

Zelgadis blinked a couple of times at her demanding tone, "...okay..." Wow, Lina's room. This he has got to see. _Okay then. Second room, second room..._

Upon his arrival at the suppose Lina's room; in front of her neatly carved wooden door to be exact, the chimera took his time to relax himself so that he was ready to face any horror concealed behind the door. A couple of long breaths later, he slowly put his hand on the door knob and even slowly turning the knob and _even_ _more_ slowly, push the door.

Zelgadis was, well, kind of disappointed. Lina's room was nothing different than the rest of the house, except for the stacks and stacks of books and scrolls (obviously magic related) beside the over packed-with-books bookshelf on the left side of the room, other than that the room was tidy.

_I can't believe how tidy this room is considering how a slob Lina can be..._

He was expecting the room to be more...Lina-like but oh, why is he caring anyway! But then he saw Lina's closet. The chimera took a gulp.

_I wonder if I'll find any feminine dress in there...? Or perhaps...make-up kits...? ...lipsticks...? _

Fighting his curiosity, he shook his head violently.

_What am I thinking! If Lina finds out, she'll mutilate me!_

Using all his will power, he ignored the closet and analyzed the rest of the room. On the right side of the wall, he spotted Lina's tidy bed and immediately he laid her on the bed. He had thought of removing her shoulder guards and short sword but he decided against it since her sister did say "Just lay her down and leave the room" and somehow he got the feeling that he should probably not defy her command. Quietly, he exited the room and closed the door behind him.

Walking back towards the living room, he spotted Luna sitting on one the sofas.

"Have a seat,"

Hesitantly, he moved towards a sofa beside her and sat down while ignoring Luna's long stare.

For the moment, Luna did not said anything so he took the free time to analyze the woman beside him, secretly that is. The first thing he noticed is her large...rack.

_I wonder why Lina's brea-... The hell am I thinking!_

Blushing slightly, he tried to figure out Luna's personality.

_She seems quiet polite...in contrast to Lina... But there seems to be some kind of aura surrounding her... I wonder if that's the reason why Lina's so afraid of her..._

"First thing first," Luna suddenly spoke.

The chimera waited for her to continue with anticipation.

"I'm tired so don't expect me to serve you any refreshment,"

Maybe Luna _is _similar to Lina in a way...

"Now," her tone suddenly turned serious, "Tell me everything that had happened from the battle with Hellmaster Phibrizzo in Sairaag up to now,"

_...that was awfully direct..._ Taking a slow breath, he started to answer her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Damn it! I thought she's still at her part-time job! Is she off-duty today? _Lina thought in distress as she peeped the two's conversation through the keyhole. Afraid that her sister might somehow spot her eye through the keyhole, she removed herself from the door and started to pace quietly in her room.

_What to do! What to do! _As she pacing frantically back and forth, her sight fell on the window beside her bed, _...maybe I should escape and let Zel handle things here... Yeah! That's it! I mean all he has to do is to ask her about how to save Gourry and... _she stopped herself.

Her frightened expression turned into a sad frown, "...Gourry..." Why was she hesitating? Didn't she want to save Gourry as soon as possible? Time is not going to wait for her and yet here she is hiding from her big sister, delaying everything.

_That's right... Gourry means everything to me... I'm not going to let Luna scare the shit out off me...this time at least..._ Lina stood in front of her door, taking one big gulp and braced herself to confront her number one fear; her big sister.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Stop,"

Zel blinked, "Huh?" he hadn't even finish explaining everything yet. Heck, he didn't even come to the good part yet.

"It seems that someone finally has the guts to join us," Luna calmly spoke as her lips curved into a playful grin.

The sound of steps caught the chimera's attention and quickly he turned to the source of the sound. To his surprise, he saw Lina standing behind them and then his surprise increased. Why? It was because the sorceress was shaking slightly and her eyes were glued to the floor. Plus, she was currently twiddling with her fingers.

"Hello, Lina-chan," her sister smiled at her.

Timidly, Lina brought up her head and gave her sister a crooked smile, "...I...I'm home, ne-chan..."

"I know that. Come, take a seat," Luna patted the sofa just beside her.

Lina took a gulp and followed her sister's command.

"Now, your chimera friend here told me that you used the Giga Slave to destroy Hellmaster and in the end you lost control of the spell," Luna spoke, never moving her eyes off Lina's face.

"B-but everything worked out in the end!" Lina quickly blurted out her reply, defensively.

"If everything had worked out in the end, then why are you here?"

_Because its my home! _Lina knew that counter her big sis' words with witty remark is a big no-no and will result to some serious damage (to her), "A...a friend of mine was...was possessed by Hellmaster..." she replied in a timid tone as she brought her hands together and clasped them tightly.

"A friend that is so important to you that you would risk the entire world just to save him?" there was a slight teasing in Luna's voice.

Lina's head drooped lower, "...uh"

"Well?"

"...yes,"

While the two was having their conversation, the chimera listened quietly.

_I guess the love for teasing other people runs in the family..._

More over, he was amused of how out of character Lina was acting before him.

_So, this is how her older sister affects her... Hmmm... I wonder what Luna did to make the act-only-on-impulse Lina this scared...? _

If only Amelia was here right now. He could then discuss the matter with the little princess. ...and then use the new juicy information they concoct as a counter-attack measure against any of Lina's wrath...

_...heh... ...Damn it! I'm becoming like that damn priest! ...no... No! This is just self-defense!_

Luna's smile never faded as she continued her conversation with Lina, "Describe this friend of yours. Is he male? Female? Does he/she has a name?"

Lina's face quickly turned red causing her older sister to let out an amused "Ooooh". In the back of her mind, she had this bizarre feeling that Luna already knows about her "friend"... Oh well, she has no choice but to submit to Luna's teasing...

"It's a he... H-he's name is...Gourry Gabriev. We, we've been traveling together for almost two years now," the sorceress' face grew even redder, if that's even possible, wondering how personal can her big sis's questions get...

Luna's eyes widen at her reply, "Oh! Travelling with a guy for two years. Is he gorgeous? Handsome? Chivalry?" Gods! When will the questions stop!

_Damn it, ne-chan! You're just trying to humiliate me in front Zel, aren't you! ...oh, the humiliation! Grrr, if I see even a smirk on his face, I'll..._

With her face still facing the floor, she snapped her now narrowed eyes at the chimera's direction. Zelgadis let out a startled yet silent "Eeep", while flailing his hands defensively, thinking that Lina had some how had read his plotting mind. A sweat trailed down his cheek when he saw her grinding her teeth at him...beast-like.

_...crap! She's acting like a savage beast again...!_ he thought in panic.

"Lina-chan, are you angry at my questions?"

Lina's face instantly turned sheer white at Luna's voice and quickly she edged away from her sister, "No! No! I wouldn't dare be mad at you!" she shrieked in a spare-my-pathetic-life manner. Zelgadis eyes popped out of their socket at her respond. ...good god!

Her sister smiled sweetly at her, "Good then. Well, answer my previous question,"

Her face changed from white to crimson again, "...uhhh," secretly, she thanked every god and dark lord she knew for rescuing her from the previous death pit.

"Weeeellll?"

The teasing tone in Luna's voice made Lina twiddled her fingers again, "...he's uhhh...he's..." God, she wished that her heart would stop pounding violently against her chest.

SLAAAAM!

The three of them jolted out of their sofas at the loud sound.

"Lina!"

The sorceress smiled from ear to ear, knowing crystal clear who the voice belongs to.

"To-chan! Ka-chan!" Lina yelled in delight as she sprinted towards the two figures that had emerged from the front door.

"Ohhh! It is you, Lina! We came here as soon as possible once we heard from the neighbors that you were back!" the man with long black hair, obviously her father, spoke with a huge grin as he embraced his youngest daughter, followed by the woman beside him who had already closed back the front door.

"How's traveling?"

"Find anything valuable?"

"Are you eating right?"

"Did you create more new original spells?"

"To-san, ka-san, we've got company," their eldest daughter cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.

_Shit! I forgot Zel's here too! _Lina thought in embarrassment as she withdrew herself from her parents' grasp. An icky feeling washed over her when she saw the chimera smirked at her.

_Heh, "to-chan"? "Ka-chan"? she's no better than Amelia and Phil, _After feeling content from watching the blushing Lina glare at him, Zelgadis turned his attention to the two new person.

First, Lina's father. The man was indeed something to behold. The tall man, with his beautiful face that matches even the most beautiful woman, looked both young and old at the same time. It's difficult to tell if he's older or perhaps even younger than Gourry. His black hair was long but it didn't match Gourry's hair's length and he didn't have that long bangs that covered part of his face like Gourry. Then he saw the cigarette in his mouth and wondered to himself why it wasn't lit. Other than that the man was plain, just like his clothes except for the cheap fishing rod he was currently holding.

Then it was Lina's mother's turn. Like the father, her mother too was beautiful. But unlike him, her long hair was chestnut brown and was tied into a pony tail. Then there's the comforting smile that she wore. The chimera concluded that she's probably the smile-smile type of person... But wait...! Where did Lina and Luna got their bizarre personality from then...? His eyes quickly darted back to the man of the Inverse house and unconsciously, the chimera took a nervous gulp.

Lina's father suddenly walk towards him, bend a bit so that the two of them were on an eye level and cupped his chin with his right hand.

The chimera's hands were itching to grab his cloth's hood.

"Hmmm, never seen this type of chimera before... So, you're Lina's traveling companion, eh? What's your name?" he suddenly spoke, curiosity glinting in his eyes.

Zelgadis backed away a little, "...uhhh... Z-Zelgadis..." he replied feeling very uncomfortable under the tall man's gaze.

Ms Inverse smiles sweetly, "So, Zelgadis, what is your relationship with my daughter?"

_...eh...? _both Lina and Zelgadis thought in pure shock.

Luna arched an eyebrow before letting out a sigh.

"Ka-chan! It's not like that! He's just a normal travel buddy!" Lina quickly defended herself in embarrassment.

The chimera was...speechless.

_...why is it that every time we bumped into someone new they kept pairing me up with Lina! Me and Lina...? Yeeesh, just the mere thought is enough to scare away kids..._

SLAAAAM!

All of them jolted.

_Who is it this time that's wrecking our door...?_ Luna thought with another sigh.

"Lina-san!"

Both Lina and Zelgadis turned to the sound of the voice and gasped simultaneously.

"Amelia!"

**To Be Continue...**

**Author's Ranting :**

...Umm, how long was I "offline"...? Hehe, sorry for the very, very, very long update... My life is in chaos right now...

Zel : Oi, when will this Inverse family reunion ends? We're straying very far from our objective (glares at Lina)

Lina : What are you looking at me for? It's my family's fault not mine!

Luna : What was that Lina?

Lina : (laughs nervously) I mean, of course, it's **my** fault! ...huhuhuu...

Now, now, the plot will continue in the next chapter... Come on now Zel. Didn't you find that family reunion heartbreaking?

Zel : ...stupid is more like it...

Luna : What was that chimera-san?

Zel : (pales) ...I meant, stupendous...

Lina & Zel : (sigh)

On the next chapter, the secret of the hidden legend weapon, the Spirit Disintegrator! R&R please!

Amelia : Umm, I missed a lot of good stuff, didn't I?

Lina & Zel : You're so lucky...


	18. The Secret Of The Spirit Disintegrator

**Hell's Breaking Point**

**Chapter XVIII – The Secret Of The Spirit Disintegrator **

Disclaimer: Slayers-tachi wa atashi no mono jyanai... Urururu...

Lina : ...ignore her please... Please!

Xellos was assigned a peculiar errand by the Lord Of Nightmare. At first, it was just a simple taunting game but as time goes by, the errand became more extreme until it turns to a resurrection of an old foe... (Mostly L/G and Z/A) - Takes place after Next and before Try.

**Japanese Words:**

Oka-sama : Mother aka L.O.N.

Oni-san : Big brother

Mazoku : Evil race/Monster

Juu Ou : Beastmaster

To-chan : Dad

Ka-chan : Mom

Ne-chan : Big sis

'…….' Is for Phibby's thoughts

…… Is for Gourry's thoughts

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Lina-san!"

"Amelia!" both Lina and Zelgadis shouted in unison.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So you're saying that Phil-san hurled you in the air with his freakishly strong strength and then you just levitated the rest of the journey here?" Lina said, still having a hard time processing and chewing the fact. After Amelia's arrival, the Slayers plus the Inverse family decided to have a little discussion while sitting together on the Inverse's sofas.

"Uh-huh!" Amelia beamed, feeling very proud of her and her father's teamwork.

Lina turned to Zelgadis who was sitting beside the princess, "Is that...possible?"

The chimera crossed his arms, "The term "impossible" is lost in this universe,"

The sorceress gave him a hard glare but he just shrugged his shoulders at her.

"Well, whatever!" Lina started, "The main question is; how did you know we were here? I didn't recall telling you..." she asked Amelia in a demanding tone.

The princess' smile widens, "Do you remember the time in Rezo's lab where Sylphiel-san used her crystal rod to figure out which path to take?"

Lina pondered this for a moment before her mouth went agape, "...Y-you mean..." Amelia nodded.

Zelgadis too caught the hint as he turned to the girl beside him, "...how?" he asked with wide eyes.

"She did the same trick on the world map!"

Lina and Zelgadis gave her a disbelief look, "...and the rod just gracefully landed on Zefielia?" they asked in an unsure tone simultaneously.

"Yup!"

Once again, the sorceress turned to the chimera.

"Let me rephrase, the term "impossible" is **so** lost in this universe..." he replied in a deadpan tone after regaining from the shock.

Lina fought the urge to "hurt" her stone companion (since Luna and her parents are just beside them).

"How long have you three known each other?" the three of them faced the new voice. It was Lina's mother.

"About two years," the three answered.

"Ah, I'm sorry for bursting into the house like that earlier," Amelia bashfully spoke towards the Inverse family with one hand behind her head, "Sorry. It's just that when I finally made it here, I heard someone said that the waitress of hell was murdering Lina-san at her house," Lina and Luna exchanged quick glances before letting out small coughs, "So I quickly asked for directions and, well, you know what happened," Amelia ended with a small laugh.

Ms Inverse smiled sweetly, "It's okay, dear," she said as she batted her hand. Mr Inverse too gave her a grin. It seems that the two of them didn't find the "waitress of hell was murdering Lina-san at her house" rumor disturbing... The said "waitress of hell" just remained stoic with a small smirk plastered on her face...

The princess gave the three a sheepish smile before returning her attention back to Lina, "That's right, Lina-san! Sylphiel-san is very upset with you!"

A look of pain and discomfort crossed the sorceress' face, "...o-oh..."

The chimera could only gave her a concerned look.

"How could you just leave Seyruun like that without telling her anything! She was ready to help you save Gourry-san and yet you just left her behind!" Amelia continued, slightly angry at her.

Lina shook slightly, "Eh? Y-you mean, she wasn't angry at me for loosing Gourry again?"

Amelia gave her a bewildered look, "Hmm? Angry for what?" she asked again.

"N-nothing! Nothing! Just kidding!" the sorceress waved her hands franticly. But she couldn't help but smile sadly, _...I see... ...thanks, Sylphiel... I promise you I won't mess up this time..._

"But Amelia. With you being here, does that mean the havoc in Seyruun has settled down?" the chimera suddenly asked. Lina's parents and sister didn't make those confused look that Gourry usually wore which mean the news about a being wrecking havoc in Seyruun have spread even to Zefilia.

Amelia started to frown, "...no. Seyruun is still a mess but the only reason why I'm here right now is because Sylphiel-san had told me to come, in her place," her hands on her knees bunched into fists, "To be honest, her white magic is much more superior than mine. That's why right now, it's much better that's she's in Seyruun than me, to tend to the wounded..."

"What did Phil say about you leaving?" that quickly got Zelgadis to be decked by the Inverse siblings. Lina cringed as her fist contacted with the rock hard skin while Luna just acted like nothing happened. The chimera rubbed the purple, super aching spot where Luna had punched him, shocked out of his wits how a girl had managed to hurt him badly before mouthing out a "what?". Lina's parents just gave him a you-have-no-tact glare.

Amelia didn't seem to be fazed by the fact that the Inverse family was currently glaring daggers at the chimera, "To-san didn't object since he knew that I wanted to help Lina-san save Gourry-san just as bad as staying in Seyruun for the sake of the people... But he said not to worry since he'll work twice as hard with me away," she replied in a soft tone as she stared at her fists.

Giving the chimera a final glare, Lina turned to look at the depressed princess, "Look, Amelia. Even if Sylphiel's white magic is greater than yours that doesn't mean the people doesn't need you. You're the princess of Seyruun, not Sylphiel," the mentioned of the princess of Seyruun caused Lina's parents to let out a small gasp (they didn't saw that one coming), "The people needs a leader to support them. Someone they can drew out the strength to continue on living," she placed a comforting hand on Amelia's shoulder, "Someone like you. Now, you may not have a high level of leadership yet, unlike me," Luna raised an eyebrow and let out a small scoff, "but between us all you have the most high sense of compassionate and justice towards innocent people," Luna managed to mutter "unlike you", "and that's what the people want from their leader, kay? So, stop this pity-yourself fest right now and buck up. This is very un-Amelia like of you. Look!" she pointed a finger at the startled chimera, "Even Zel is becoming more angst-ing because of you,"

Amelia looked at the slightly blushing Zelgadis and smiled, "You're right, Lina-san! This is no time to be depressed. To-san is working hard back in Seyruun so I'll work hard here too! Because we have a companion to save, right?"

Lina gave her usual grin, "Right! Besides, with you here, I have more confidence in saving that jellyfish Gourry!" she patted her shoulder in a friendly manner, _I gotta thank Sylphiel for that one too!_

"...Gourry...?"

Everyone turned to Mr Inverse.

"Now where have I heard..." he then let out a sharp gasp before slamming his fists on the table, shocking everyone in the room ,"Lina!"

"...y-yes?"

"Did you manage to grab the Sword Of Light from him?"

"E-ehhhhh?" It was his daughter's turn to slam the table with her fists, startling the others once again, "To-chan! You know Gourry?" her face blazing red.

"That doesn't matter!"

_Yeah right it doesn't matter! Gourry meet up with to-chan...it's as if, as if... _her heart thumped even louder at the thought. There's only one reason (to the current Lina that is) why a man sees your parents and that's...marriage! _That sneaky jellyfish! When did he-? _"Of course it matters! What did you two talk about?" her voice raised to a panicky level, face still burning red.

"I told you it doesn't matte-...oooohhh," her father suddenly grinned mischievously. Lina's panicky level raised a notch.

"Oooohhh," Now it was her mother and sister's turn. Lina gulped.

Luna was the first to start the "Embarrass Lina Like Hell" mission, "So, this Gourry really is her man!" She made a feigned surprised look.

"What?"

"Oh, my Lina! I'm so proud of you!" her mother butted in as she wiped a small tear of happiness from her eye.

"Hei, hei, hei, wait a minute!"

"Ah, now I can stop worrying about getting you to settle down and start a family of your own," her father mumbled to himself a little too loudly as he crossed his arms on his chest and let out a sigh of relief.

"TO-CHAN!"

Zelgadis and Amelia looked at each other, blinked a couple of times, then turned back to the Inverse family and grinned. Perhaps they too could join in the fun.

"I always wondered when you would finally tell your parents about this, Lina,"

"That's right, Lina-san! Stop denying it anymore and start embracing the wonderful fact!"

The sorceress turned to glare threateningly at her two companions with gritted teeth, "Zel! Amelia!" she growled menacingly.

At first Zelgadis and Amelia just jerked away from the scary sorceress but soon they couldn't keep in their amusement anymore and started to let out a hearty laugh. The Inverse family (minus Lina) then soon joined in the laughter much to Lina's discomfort.

With her patience running dry fast, Lina searched for the source of her embarrassment beside her and yelled, "This is all your fault Gour...ry..." But of course, he wasn't there beside her anymore.

Anguish and hurt flashed in her eyes and she instantly drooped her head. The laughter stopped abruptly at the sorceress' action only to be continued by an eerie silence since at the moment no one, not even her parents knew what to say to her.

"J-just," Sadness was clear in her voice, "Just stop this. I don't want to waste anymore time..."

"Lina," Hesitantly, she looked at her father, "Tell us everything," his voice was dead serious for the first time on that day and Lina slowly complied. She told them everything, from their first encounter with Hellmaster to the conversation she had with Xellos before she and Zelgadis had journeyed here.

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"So that's why you came back here," her father started speaking again as he cupped his chin. Her mother and sister were still silent and Lina was grateful for that, since she knew that her family knew that she despises being pitied, "Well then. As much as I want to brag that I can fight a Mazoku only armed with my fishing rod, this is clearly way over my league. So, Luna. Handle this will you?" His oldest daughter nodded.

"I'll go make dinner then. It's already dark outside," her mother spoke in her usual cheery manner.

"I'll help you then, dear," her father too took his leave and walk beside his wife.

Surprised by her parents' calm behavior, Lina called out to them, "...Ka-chan? To-chan...?"

The two of them stopped walking, turned and smiled at their daughter, "Don't mind us, Lina. If we listen more to the conversation, it'll be even harder for us to stop ourselves from going after that Hell brat by ourselves. But naturally we won't since the guy is your prey. It's just that...urghhh," her father suddenly punched his fist to his other opened hand, "I just want to punch him once!"

"Now, now, dear. You're going to help me cook dinner remember?" her mother said calmly before leading him towards the kitchen.

Lina could only smile at the two figure before they vanished inside the kitchen, _Thanks to-chan, ka-chan..._

"I wouldn't mind going after Phibrizzo and destroy him, but where's the challenge in that?" It was Luna's turn to speak as she stifled a yawn.

Zelgadis and Amelia just stared at her, wondering if what she had said was true or if it was just a joke.

But Lina knew better. Before the Hellmaster incident in Sairaag, Luna would probably have said something different but now, Hellmaster was part human. That makes it much easier for Luna to destroy him since she is the Knight of Ceiphied. But that doesn't mean the sorceress can't glare at her older sister's arrogance.

"If I let you go, you would probably kill Gourry in the process," Lina mumbled to herself.

"I guess that's why we're now discussing about a new plan to save your Gourry, right Lina?" her sister smirked at her.

Panic, Lina hid her face beneath her hands.

Luna ignored her, "Hmm, I guess that's my cue to tell all of you about an ancient invention created by," Lina peeked slightly between her fingers, "Shazal Rugandi,"

Lina fell forward at the mention of the name, surprising her two companions, _Why must I encounter another one of Shazal Rugandi's invention...? Ughh, this is going to be a repeat of that Shadow Reflector incident...I wonder what happened to Naga's and my shadow? _A chill crossed down her spine, "C-can we really trust the guy's invention...?"

Luna quirked an eyebrow at her, "You have any other idea?"

"...no,"

"Then please shut up,"

Lina let out a squeaked "yes ma'am".

"Let me continue. This particular invention was a weapon named the Spirit Disintegrator," the sorceress quickly became curious at the sound of the name, "and as you might guessed, it was used to disintegrate spirit from a physical body completely, specifically, the spirit of a Mazoku," Luna finished as she wiggled her forefinger.

"You mean, it has the effect like the astral spells?" the chimera asked.

Luna nodded slightly, "Well, as a matter of speaking, yes. Only..."

_There's always a catch, isn't it... _Lina thought skeptically.

"Only the strength of this weapon is based on the user's will so the power will vary from strong to ridiculously weak since a human's will can change through different situation,"

"And since there's the astral spells as its competitors, which is not based on the users' will but on their magical ability, the weapon was then thought as useless and was sealed away..." Lina finished her sister's statement dryly.

"Well yes, it would be ashamed to destroy such an...eccentric creation..."

Amelia blinked, "So, what's the purpose of him creating that?"

"...as a hobby...?" both the Inverse siblings answered together.

"If it's useless, then what's the point of using it against Hellmaster?" Zelgadis asked in a tired manner.

Luna quickly lightened up, "Ah, but you forget, the different between the Spirit Disintegrator and the astral spells is that the SD effects only the Mazoku unlike spells such as the Elmekia Lance which effects both humans and Mazoku,"

Lina's eyes glinted as she caught on what her sister was implying, "So, if we use this weapon against Phibrizzo,"

"We can destroy him without hurting Gourry-san!" Amelia piped in enthusiastically before she and Lina let out a squeal of delight and exchanged hugs.

Zelgadis too exchanged a smile with the two ecstatic girls before turning to the Knight Of Ceiphied, "So, it's not really that useless,"

"It's rarely used so it is useless," Luna said a matter-of-factly. The chimera could only blink at her laidback answer.

Satisfied with the new information, Lina quickly got up from her chair, grinning confidently at everyone, "Well then! What are we waiting for! Lets move out-!"

"Tomorrow,"

Lina face faulted, "What?" she turned to her stoic sister.

Her older sister shrugged her shoulders in response, "What do you expect. You three just came, it's already dark outside and all of you must be exhausted from traveling here. It's only logical that you would start hunting the weapon tomorrow,"

"But, but, but... We can't waste anymore time, ne-chan! We still have to find the location where the invention was hidden, get it, go all the way to Sairaag and kill Hellmaster once and for all!" she stuttered, torn between obeying her almighty sister and saving Gourry as fast as possible.

"I know where it's hidden," her sister replied calmly again as she put her arms behind her head.

"W-well then-!"

"Go into your room and get yourself ready for dinner," She commanded in the tone Lina fear the most. Her lips curved slightly when the sorceress dashed into her room in lightning speed and closed the door behind her. Her eyes then diverted to other two.

"We'll stay here and behave!" Zelgadis and Amelia shouted simultaneously before averting their gazes away from the scary woman, hushing their thumping hearts.

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Night soon fell in Zefielia and by the time Lina (hesitantly) emerged from her room, dinner was already served. Fortunately for the Slayers, the dinner went on smoothly. The food were great and there were less scarfing sounds since Lina had to mind her table manners whenever Luna is nearby (and Luna is always nearby). Her companions found the Inverse family to be quite friendly (even Luna at times) as they chatted and laughed about everything but of course they made a silent pact not to mention Gourry's name in front of the sorceress. All in all, they had a very nice dinner.

Soon midnight came and they decided to retire for the night. Mr and Ms Inverse were sound asleep in their room. Amelia was quietly tossing and turning on top of Lina's bed. Zelgadis was snoring softly on top of a long sofa. Yup, everyone was asleep... Except for the Inverse siblings.

"Lina," the said name jerked harshly at Luna's voice and she almost slipped down the house roof, "What are you doing on top of our roof?" her sister was obviously annoyed.

"L-Luna?" she found her balance but she didn't found her sister. Seconds later, Luna's figure appeared behind the roof edge as she levitated (What? the Knight of Ceiphied must know some basic spells just like her father...) herself upwards before landed beside the fidgeted sorceress.

Sitting down beside her, Luna glared at her, which scared the shit out of her, "I thought I told you to get some rest for tomorrow's journey,"

A startled "eeep" escaped the sorceress' mouth and quickly, she ducked her head from the stare.

Luna sighed, "Don't tell me you can't sleep..." The silence between them indicated that her thought was right and Luna knew why her little sister couldn't sleep; she was thinking too much, "Are you still worry about your Gourry friend?"

Lina gave a small nod.

"He's going to be fine,"

Lina didn't respond to that one

_Geez, she's such a worrywart..._ "Lina. You really like the guy, huh?" Now that got her to respond, by making that idiotic shocked expression of hers. Luna could swear that her little sister was blushing up a storm. She can sense it even though she couldn't see it through the dark night, _Ah yes. The denial..._ "Don't try to hide it from me. I'm your sister. I would know eventually," No respond. With another sigh, Luna decided to change the topic a bit, "Now, tell me how you met the guy,"

Looking at Luna skeptically, it took Lina a while to have the courage to tell her story. About her meeting with Gourry. About he ended up being her protector.

"Protector, huh?" Luna spoke after a while. She didn't mean to sound like she was teasing her... And she really didn't mean to make that muffled guffawing sound...

Lina crossed her arms on her bent knees and laid her head on it, trying to hide the embarrassment, "I-it's stupid, isn't it?"

Turning serious again, Luna copied her sitting position, _It's not what I think that's important... _"Do you think it's stupid?"

"...well, of...course... I don't need a protector... I can take care of myself," Lina answered stutteredly which meant not all of her found it stupid.

"Well, Lina. A normal girl would squeal in delight if a handsome guy offers to protect her. I guess you're not normal then,"

"That's not called a normal girl. That's a hormone-powered girl. Besides, the main problem is not the "protector" bit, it's the way he sometimes treat me as a little kid,"

Luna gave her a slightly shocked look, "So, you want him to treat you as a woman. My, my, Lina. Aren't we grown up already," she smirked at the last part.

The sorceress jerked away, completely startled at her sister's words, "N-no! Not like-!" She shook her head vigorously, fighting the blush that's trying to take over her whole body.

"I take it you two are close then?" Luna quickly twisted her statement in a more not-too-personal way.

"Too close..." Lina's high-pitched voice turned into a dull tone, void of everything but her sadness and regret, "That's the reason why he's in this predicament in the first place...because he's the closest one to me; a target weakness..." she gritted her teeth before ducking her head beneath her folded arms. Everything was her fault...

Luna looked at her sister, slightly surprised. It's very rare to see Lina open up like this, _So...she's blaming herself for this..._ She decided that now is a really good time for a sister-to-sister talk, "Everyone has their weaknesses, Lina. They can be either love ones, friends, family, prized possession, you name it... If you're wondering about my weakness, all I can say is good luck finding it," She got no respond, not even a sigh of defeat. Luna started to get a little worried, "My point is, it's impossible to be weakness-free. So, instead of worrying about it, start concentrating on how to protect it," Lina's head raised slightly, "Grow stronger, find new valuable and priceless experiences. So that in the future you can use them to protect yourself and your weaknesses without flaw," She placed a hand on top of her little sister's head and ruffled her head gently.

And she smiled, "And you can protect Gourry,"

_I'm not her friend, I'm her protector!_

A tear fell from one eye and Lina blinked it away, "...I...I...want to protect him," Lina confessed the burdening truth as thousands of memories of her and Gourry flowed into her mind. From the beginning of their relationship...

_And I'm her protector, Gourry Gabriev!_

...to the part where she had lost him... And she couldn't help but surrendered to her emotions. She cried for her current loss.

One hand made it's way to the sniffing figure's shoulder and gently Luna pulled her sister close, "Then protect him. Be his protector as he is yours," she spoke her wisdom softly. Her smile widen when she felt her sister buried her face in her chest, muffling her cries, one hand clutching the front of her shirt tightly.

_...for the rest of my life..._

"...Gourry..." Lina sobbed out the name as her gripped on her sister tightened.

Gazing at the brilliant stars above, Luna knew that at the moment, words are unnecessary. But she tried anyway as she softly hushed her little sister's sobbing down with comforting words. Telling her that Ceiphied will watch over Gourry in her absence. And that she herself will watch over her lil sis until she is needed no more.

**To Be Continue...**

**Author's Ranting :**

Phew...another chapter finish... Hmmm, about Luna being the "waitress of hell" bit. I don't know if it's just a rumor or an official thing... But I like how the name sounds! Man, there are so many questions about Lina's sis. Can she use magic? How's her real personality? Is she that strict with other people as well? Does she have a cool sword like Lyos from Aqualord (since she is the Knight Of Ceiphied)? Oh man, Luna is so cool! Oh yeah, I forgot to put Spot aka Dilgear in this chapter. Poor, Spot... Well, whatever. He's not an important character anyway.

Spot : (whimpers)

Xellos : Does that make you feel proud of yourself? (smiles)

Nope, not really.

Xellos : Oh, okay then! (whistles to himself)

Lina : Luna, ne-chan! (wails)

Luna : Uhhh, t-that's enough crying for one day, Lina...

Lina : B-but... (still sniffing)

Luna : Quit it! (glares)

Lina : (panicked) Y-yes ma'am!

And there you go. A moment of sisterly love!

Amelia : I want to have that kind of relationship with my sister... (sigh)

Naga : (wearing a mask) ...o-ohohoho...y-you're kidding, right...?

Zel & Xel : Thank god I have no siblings... (stares at each other)

Xel : What?

Gourry : (stares at the Sword of Light) ...siblings... (scoffs)


	19. Weapon Hunting

**Hell's Breaking Point**

**Chapter XIX – Weapon Hunting**

Disclaimer: Slayers.Not.Mine...

Xellos was assigned a peculiar errand by the Lord Of Nightmare. At first, it was just a simple taunting game but as time goes by, the errand became more extreme until it turns to a resurrection of an old foe... (Mostly L/G and Z/A) - Takes place after Next and before Try.

**Japanese Words:**

Oka-sama : Mother aka L.O.N.

Oni-san : Big brother

Mazoku : Evil race/Monster

Juu Ou : Beastmaster

To-chan : Dad

Ka-chan : Mom

Ne-chan : Big sis

'…….' Is for Phibby's thoughts

…… Is for Gourry's thoughts

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"Hmmmm, the entrance should be around here somewhere..." Lina mumbled to herself as she stared at the map of the Spirit Disintergrator's whereabout Luna had made, "Find anything?" she called out to the others, eyes still glued to the piece of paper in her hands.

Long tired groaning noises were the only respond she got.

"I guess not..." she sighed, _Man, why can't ne-chan be the guide for this treasure hunt..._

**Flashback**

"What? You're not coming with us?" the sorceress' jaw dropped open at her sister's refusal.

Luna tapped her feet impatiently on the soft ground, "Are you deaf or must I repeat myself..." She was so not going to join them. Well, the least she could do was seeing them off, which is what she's currently doing, along with her parents at the outskirts of Zefielia.

"Look, Lina. I have a REAL job to attend to if you haven't notice. I'm busy plus the map I gave you is more than enough to guide you to the place,"

"Besides," her eyes shifted quickly, looking straight over the sorceress. Curious, Lina turned back to see what her sister was looking at but found nothing but trees and overgrown hedges, "This will be a test of mine to see if you really have improved for the past few years. If you can't even do a simple thing like following the map, then I'm willing to 'train' you all over again, from scratch," Luna glanced back at her before giving her an evil grin.

Lina turned white and took a slow gulp, "I-I won't fail..."

"Good. And one thing, Lina,"

Lina blinked at the sudden change in her sister's voice.

"Watch your back,"

Sensing something in her sister's words, she quickly turned back again, searching the woods, "What did you saw, ne-chan?"

"Just go quickly before I tell your friends about last night,"

"Going!" snapping back out of her suspicion, the sorceress quickly grabbed her two companions by the arm and dashed away before Luna can say anymore about her bawling last night.

"Bye honey! Make sure you don't overeat!"

"Oh and Lina! Take good care of the little princess, will ya? Don't want Zefielia to have any problems with Seyruun because of you!""

Both Lina's parents waved cheerfully at the fast retreating figures.

Luna just stood still, staring back at the woods with a serious look. Her parents noticed this.

"So, what did you see?" her father asked, turning a little curious.

She didn't answered quickly as her eyes stayed on one spot for a moment, "A challenge for Lina," she suddenly grinned before turning around and walked towards a certain restaurant.

Mr Inverse gave out a small sigh, "Lina gets all the fun..." he put his hands behind his back and followed her daughter with her wife beside him.

"Well, you're too old for those kind of stuff," his wife muttered with a smile, putting one hand on his waist.

"Don't say I'm old...!"

**End Of Flashback**

Lina let out a long sigh after finishing remembering the past, "Ahhh, man, this sucks... Zel! Amelia! Where are you guys?" she yelled out, getting frustrated by the minute.

"Over here!" Amelia yelled back as both she and Zelgadis emerged between the bushes, looking somewhat tired and disappointed.

Lina placed a hand on her waist, "Still no luck?"

The two of them shook their head.

"But,"

The sorceress' ears perked up at the chimera's word. A ray of hope perhaps? But the serious and suspicious look he was wearing indicated something else. Her eyes' narrowed. Something was obviously wrong.

"What is it, Zel?" her tone serious.

The chimera's eyes darted left and right at their surrounding before replying, "I think we've been watched. I got the feeling since we departed from Zefielia..." his tone low and secretive, making sure only the two girls could hear him.

Amelia too took secret glances at their surrounding, "He told me before... I don't feel anything but I think we should trust Zelgadis-san..." she whispered quietly.

_Watch your back..._

Luna's words echoed in the sorceress' head and her lips curved a little, "Hmmm... I see. _Someone_ knows about us trying to retrieve the weapon...," Someone, meaning Hellmaster Phibrizzo, "Act natural and stay sharp," she commanded in a low tone. Seconds later, she return to look back at the map in her hand and let out a frustrated groan, "But this stupid map! We followed the trail perfectly! The entrance should be right here!" she emphasized by stomping her foot on the bricked ground repeatedly. It was true though. They followed the map's instructions, word by word and they had found themselves in a small clearing surrounded by wild trees, bushes, hedges and plants.

"Yeesh! It's as if we have to say some stupid password like "Open sesame" and waaaah!" she yelped as the ground beneath the three of them suddenly opened up, sucking them inside the earth.

The three of them could only managed to scream before the ground closes up again.

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"Ahhh, my butt..."

"...my ears..."

"S-shut up, Zel! You were screaming too, you know!"

"T-that was just from the shock!"

"Yeah, yeah. Right..."

"Lina-san... What just happened? You _are_ Lina-san, right? I can't see a thing... L-Lina-san...? Z-Zelgadis-san?... Kyaaaaaa!"

"O-oi, Amelia! Stop yelling! That was just my hand! Dammit! Lighting!"

A small orb of light suddenly appeared and hovered above the sprawling figures, brightening the small passage that the three of them had fell on somewhat.

"Much better..." Lina sighed as she rubbed her aching behind, thanks to the sudden fall.

Amelia too let out a sigh, "Light at last..." she placed a hand on her chest.

Zelgadis raised himself from the floor and sat crossed leg across them, "About your question Amelia. It seems that the entrance, which was the bricked ground where we stood, opened up after Lina said the password,"

"Open sesame? Open sesame! What a stupid password! Ne-chan, didn't even bother to tell us about it!" the said sorceress shouted in annoyance.

"...maybe that's the test she mentioned before..."

"Ummm, Lina-san. Why didn't the surface open up even after you yelled the password twice...?"

"..."

"Open sesame!"

"OPEN SESAME!"

"Kyaaaa! OPEN SESAME!"

"..."

"...maybe from the inside, we have to say a different password...?"

"..."

"...darkness beyond twilight-"

"STOP CHANTING!" Amelia freaked out before the chimera quickly snatched the sorceress' arms, gripping it tightly as Lina struggled against him.

"At least find the weapon first before you destroy us along with this ruin!" he shouted at her obviously frightened by her sudden Dragu Slave impulses...

That did the trick. Instantly, Lina relaxed against his hold, "Oh, yeah! Well, lets find it then!" she replied cheerfully as she removed herself from Zelgadis.

He and Amelia looked at the sorceress before turning to each other and letting out a long sigh.

Although the entrance was a blunder, the rest of the journey in the ruin passage went smoothly (thanks to the map) and they were surprised that some of the booby traps were disarmed and had already been activated. What's left were hundreds of dead and broken arrows lying on the ground, opened trap floors, immobile yet dented giant axes, and tiny pieces of a suppose trap boulders...

"...this must be ne-chan's doing..."

There was a small tremor though but nothing happened... Finally, after a long walk, they arrived at a large, dimmed lighted hall.

"According to the map, this is the room where the DS is sealed," Lina explained as she removed her eyes from the map and stared at the inside of the hall. A tall altar stood at the end of the hall, "That altar's our next destination then,"

"I guess so..."

The three of them froze. A stranger had spoken to them. Suddenly a figure walked briskly passed them, heading towards the altar.

"Who are you!" Lina snapped back to her senses.

But the disheveled hair boy did not stop walking, instead he drew out his sword.

Then it hit her, "He's going to destroy the weapon!" she yelled in panic as she dashed towards the new enemy, with Amelia and Zelgadis behind her. Having little time to chant a spell, Lina quickly unsheathed her short sword it and threw it towards their enemy, still sprinting ahead.

With one swift move, the boy slide to the side, evading the flying weapon which made a clank noise as it fell to the floor. The boy then turned to face his assailant, "...Lina Inverse..." One eye glared at her as the other eye was covered by his long bangs.

The sorceress stopped moving abruptly. Her eyes twitched. She had never met the boy and yet he knew her name, "You're the one who has been following us since in Zefielia. Who are you?" she asked again, this time in a low tone.

Something flashed in the boy's eye, "...I am..." To her surprised, he went quiet for a while before continuing, "...I am an enemy... That is all that you need to know..."

She turned silent, "You're working for Hellmaster, aren't you? I'm surprised that a kid like you would become a Mazoku's slave,"

The boy's grip on the sword's hilt tightened as he aimed it's tip at her, "My actions are my business. Not yours," he said calmly, "Come. I am ordered to stop you from retrieving the object," his legs parted as he took on an offensive stance.

_The kid's crazy! Who on the right mind would work for a Mazoku! Unless..._ Lina took a couple of retreating steps so that her companions were at her side, "I think he's being controlled by Phibrizzo," she explained to them in a whisper.

"Eh...?" Amelia was shocked by the information but Zelgadis remained stoic.

"So, what do you want us to do?" he whispered, eyes still glued to the boy.

Lina glanced at her short sword not far from the boy, "Distract him, take the weapon and leave ASAP. Ready?"

The two of them nodded at her.

"Go!" she yelled before the three of them charged forward simultaneously, side by side.

The boy waited patiently for the attack. His eyes shifted to Amelia, Zelgadis and lastly landed on Lina who was sprinting right towards him, closing their distance fast.

"Ray Wing!"

His eyes widen as the sorceress flew high over and past him. Wasting no time, he turned to catch after her only to be stopped by the chimera who had already unsheathed his double edge sword.

"Sorry to block your path but I can't let you go any further," Zelgadis said coolly as he swung his sword at the boy.

Because of the chimera's super speed, the boy had no choice but to parry the attack.

CLANG!

Both of their strength collided against their swords, trying to maintain each of their stance. Suddenly, the boy's sword skidded downwards against the other and quickly he made an uppercut thrust, slicing the chimera's upper body...or it should be...

The boy jumped backwards.

Zelgadis glanced at his torn cloths, "That needs repairing... Sorry. But a normal sword would not be able to cut a stone body," he used left hand to tap the exposed part of his body to emphasize his point.

The boy gazed at his failure before holding his sword horizontally in front of him, "Astral Vine!" he shouted. Following the spell, his sword started to glow an evil red.

The chimera smirked, feeling very impressed at his young enemy, "I guess now it's a fair fight," he knew by the way the boy handled his weapon that he's no ordinary swordsman. Not only that but the boy was a magic-user also and this brought excitement to the chimera._ Finally, a real challenge! _

With a battle cry, both swordsmen sprinted towards each other before swinging their sword, initiating the real battle.

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Lina glanced back to see Zelgadis took on the boy in a fast paced sword duel, _Good! Zel's buying some time! _"Amelia!"

"What is it, Lina-san?" Amelia replied beside her as the two of them flew together towards the altar.

"Go and support Zel! There's something about that kid that gives me a bad feeling..." she knew what is was. It was that emotionless expression he wore and his eye... His eye showed no emotion what so ever.

"But..."

Lina gave her a reassuring smile, "I can get the weapon by myself. It's Zel that we should worry about! Now go!"

Hesitantly, Amelia nodded, "Okay," she abruptly stop in mid air and flew to the opposite direction.

The sorceress gave another glance behind her before focusing completely on the altar in front of her, "Almost there, Gourry..."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Zelgadis parried another swift attack with a grunt. This is turning into a really good challenge. Using his weight, he put on all his strength on his sword to push the boy backwards.

"Zelgadis-san! Lina-san is almost there!"

The boy's eye snapped open at the princess' words. Straining his head to the left, he saw the sorceress flying ever closer to her destination. He cursed mentally at his over-concentration at the sword duel. He was just about to take a step to catch after Lina when the chimera blocked his view of the sorceress.

"I told you before. I can't let you go any further,"

Just after Zelgadis had finish speaking, the boy extended his free hand in lightning speed and a ball of fire appeared, "Fireball!" chanted the spell before throwing it at the chimera.

Letting out a small scoff, Zelgadis jumped sideways to evade the spell's way but while he was in the air, he was shocked when he saw the boy's next action; throwing his sword directly at the zooming Fireball. "Dammit!" he quickly covered his face by crossing his arms in front of him just in time as the tip of the sword connected to the ball of fire causing it to explode.

The boy took this chance to ran after his prime target.

"Zelgadis-san!" Amelia yelled in panic as she saw the chimera flew backwards from the sudden explosion and quickly she rushed towards his side, "Are you okay?"

"Ugghhh," he moaned as he shook his clouded head. Fortunately, he received no injury from the blast only some minor burns, "That brat is smart..." He said wobbly as he got back on his feet again with Amelia's help.

"C'mon, Zelgadis-san! We got to help Lina-san!" And the two of them rushed forward, towards the altar.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A few minutes later, Lina landed on top of the altar with a small thud and with haste, walked towards the center of it. There she found a small pedestal and on top of it was the Spirit Disintegrator. It looked weird to say the least. It was oval shaped with five holes at the sides. Four on the left side and one on the right side. From the substance, it looked like it was made from orihalcon. There is also a small opening at the front. Lina wanted to check some more when a voice interrupted her from behind.

"So that's the weapon..."

Turning backwards, Lina saw the boy flying right towards her.

She let out a startled gasp, "What happened to Zel and Amelia?" she demanded angrily.

He landed at the edge of the altar, "Why don't you turn back and see for yourself?" his voice was calm but his eye still holds the lack of emotion. His sword had already been sheathed back.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "And let you destroy the weapon? Fat chance! If I do that, I'll never forgive myself!" she tightened her fists as she took a step closer towards the DS.

"Why? Why do you need it so desperately?"

His lack of understanding made her even angrier, "This is my only hope to save Gourry and I won't let anyone stand in my way! Even if it kills me!" Another step closer.

Her persistent brought curiosity to him, "Why is this Gourry so important to you? He's just a man, like any other,"

Lina's eyes glazed, "Maybe to you! But to me, he's more that that. Much more... Gourry, to me is..." She swiped the weapon from the pedestal in one quick move, surprising him, "He is an idiot, yogurt for brain jellyfish," her sweet smile and her soft voice betrayed the harsh words. Her hold at the weapon tightened as she spoke.

The boy was speechless as he stared at her.

A tremor snapped the two of them back to their senses. At first it was small but by seconds the shaking grew violent until pieces of the ceiling started to crack and fell. The altar too started to wobble dangerously.

"Lina!" Zelgadis and Amelia came into her view as they flew towards her side.

"Lina-san! I think this place is going to collapse soon!" Amelia yelled in panic as she watched the walls crumbled down.

"The tremor might have been set off as you remove the weapon from its pedestal..."

The three of them looked at the spoken boy with a surprise look.

"I suggest that you leave immediately..." And with that the boy leapt down the altar to make his escape.

Lina was shocked with the boy sudden change in attitude but now was not the time to dwell on that, "Well, you heard him! Let's get the hell out of here!" she pulled Amelia's arm who was gripping on Zelgadis's arm and dragged them down the altar where she reclaimed back her short sword from the floor before the three of them Ray Wing-ed towards the exit, evading falling rocks and boulders on the way.

"But 'Open sesame' didn't work remember?" Amelia managed to yell as they were escaping.

Lina gave the two a frightening smile, "But I'm sure 'Dragu Slave' will!"

Zelgadis and Amelia gulped and prayed for their lives.

**To Be Continue...**

**Author's Ranting :**

Thank you for those who have reviewed before! I think this story is starting to lose it's popularity... Well, even if it did. I'll still try to finish the damn story!

Xellos : Well said! (claps hands)

Gourry : I have a question!

Oh, Gourry! Long time no see! What's the question?

Gourry : The Dragu Slave needs a long time to be cast, right? So how will Lina manage to cast it with the place going to collapse at any second?

Ah, good question! Well, she could ask Zel and Amelia to carry her while she chanted the spell on the way. Then after they arrive at the entrance, KABOOOM!

Zel & Amelia : (cringes) Oh god, help us...

Gourry : Ah! I see!

Xellos : So, Gourry-san! What's your thought about Lina-san calling you "an idiot, yogurt for brain jellyfish"?

Lina : (blushes)

Gourry : What? That's normal for Lina.

Xellos : I mean, don't you think that there's a hidden message in that phrase?

Lina : (blushes some more)

Gourry : (looks at Lina) If you have something to say to me, you will say it, right Lina?

Lina:Uhhh... I...I...

She'll say it in future chapters Gourry! Scout's honor!

Gourry : Great! I can't wait!

Amelia : Yaaay!

Lina : (curse at Xellos)


End file.
